blooms

BLOOMS
each winter we anxiously watch the temperatures
during the freezing winter during february and
march
since this is the time that the blooms on our fruit trees
will pop out
if we have that sudden drop in temperatures down in
the 20s
it can ruin a whole winters production by the tree to
produce fruit

in the last week the temperature dropped one night
down to 19 degrees here
i knew since ive been watching all our fruit that they
were all waiting to just pop out with their blooms

on an earlier blog
i posted the picture of our early peach tree
the one that produces the best ever sink peaches
that we had covered with row cover
and
had placed a heat lamp inside
i looked closely at the blooms yesterday
i dont know
time will tell if all our efforts
worked

then
my wife she called me
look how beautiful this looks

there is one of our 3 plum trees that suddenly
popped open their blooms
to reveal this pure white flowering that just
pops out of the landscape

we should have a good crop of plums if these hold up
it sure will keep the bees busy the next few days

then
i looked closely at all my peach trees
the blooms are just now starting to pop out on them
they are a few days away from
popping out their pink blossoms in a show
like
the plums are doing now

a good fruit harvest is visualized for the country n this year

then
i was out in my pastures walking the path we keep mowed
it winds around all our acreage for a mile

there are hundreds and hundreds of these bluebonnets everywhere
they are thicker than they have been in several years
so
i predict


a great bluebonnet season here at the country n
and
in central texas

well worth the trip to this area in april

the organicgreen doctor

droughtiness

DROUGHTINESS

droughtiness according to my spell checker on the computer
is not a word
they suggest using naughtiness or haughtiness instead

first if you live here or eg in california you probably can figure out
what the new word means
since we and thee are experiencing it

second naughtiness may not be a bad word to substitute
since its naughty that we continue to overuse water here
and there
watering our lawns wasting our water showering washing dishes
and even shaving or brushing our teeth
planting landscapes that over utilize water

third haughtiness is what we all are going to experience when
our level of good fresh thirst quenching water drops or goes away
or
the level of potable water all contaminated becomes the norm

sorry drinking refurbished sewer water just doesnt sound
appealing to me
i know what crap ive put down the toilet before i knew better
so im sure theres lots of people doing it
not so sure all that crap gets removed
so we can drink it
i just know theres no way they can get what ive put down
there so its ok to drink

you notice i didnt mention global warming or climate change
since apparently that doesnt exist
i just know i see those glaciers overmelting
why thats happening i guess doesnt matter
but it is

then i know that polluting things like the air and the water
and our food system can not be good for us

then somehow all this affects our weather
that gives us this droughtiness we all see and feel right now

i went out and checked the levels of my irrigation tanks that i
use for my garden
usually this time of year they are overflowing
they arent
they are about 25% full
doesnt bode well for my summer garden does it


i go out and look at my bluebonnets those classic flowers
texas is known for
just south of us 40 miles they got a lot of rain this winter
their bluebonnets are larger and more beautiful than mine
which
are smaller and droughty looking and seems sort of faded
out some
the effect of droughtiness

im afraid thats what going to happen to all of us eventually
the drought and weather
will make us all droughty looking
well all suffer droughtiness

the organicgreen doctor

garden time now

GARDEN TIME NOW

its about time to use this product here
corn gluten is a product from corn
yes its ok to use on your yard if you are gluten intolerant
as long as you dont eat it

my dog used to love it so i guess he wasnt gluten intolerant

of course i dont use corn gluten anymore since i landscaped
away all my grass in my front yard
but
you can use it now in your yard if you live here in central texas as
a weed preventer
dont use the weed and feed stuff since it doesnt work
its use pollutes our water
your kids and dogs will play on the grass and it could harm them

the corn gluten after its spread is watered in and also works like
a mild fertilizer
it inhibits the weed seeds from germinating
so dont use it where you plan to spread seed since the seed
wont grow

weeds that are already in your yard now wont be killed by this or
even weed and feed
the time to have prevented them was in the fall with an application
of corn gluten
you just have to do it the old way

dig em up


its also time to plant your onion plants
i planted mine 2 weeks ago


since were having a run of warm weather i also took a
chance and planted my seed potatoes early
it looks like that was a good decision
unless we get real cold weather in the next few weeks

i plan to keep the potato bed covered with mulch and
row cover if that happens
otherwise ill just leave the bed uncovered in this warm weather

i dont cut my seed potatoes and dust with sulfur
i just find small ones and plant them whole
why mess with all that
and i get good production

last year in my 1 acre front yard it was loaded with these small bluebonnets
at this time
however because weve not had much rain this winter
just a 3 inch rain 3 weeks again
there just are not any bluebonnets to be found in my yard

this picture is the only one that i could find
doesnt bode well for a good bluebonnet showing this year

here is a picture of the first produce from the habitat garden my wife she
and i helped put in for the new homeowner

there is kale swiss chard 4 different lettuces spinach and cilantro that was
usedin her garden salad that day

a lot of nutrition is in this salad
its all organic and was picked fresh
something everyone could easily do

she should be able to get several more cuttings from these plants over the
next few months

this is a picture of my wife shes garden at her school
its 5 ft square and has 20 inches of good garden soil

you cant really see it but in the middle is a central composter
where she adds compost material and pours the water from their
fish aquarium in it

i call this her add garden
i tried to get them
thats my wife she and under her direction her students to plant
this in an organized fashion with one foot squares
but
it didnt work out that way
so
i just removed the 1 foot squares and they just do random scattered
plantings
like an abstract painting

but somewhere in there is a recent planting of onions and potatoes
its growing swiss chard arugula broccoli asian greens cilantro spinach
lettuce swiss chard strawberries and garlic
didnt see anything illegal though

think what ill do is mix up some water in her watering can and
will put in a mixture of ritalin and adderall
some for her to drink and some for the plants
so this garden can get some organization to it

the organicgreen doctor

a time to kill

Walk to End Alzheimers
click here to donate or join 
the organicgreendoctor.com team

click here to find your local walk 

WEAR PURPLE ON FRIDAY 
 

A TIME TO KILL
its time to kill your winter weeds
by treating them before they start growing
once they pop up out of the ground 
its too late to doing anything about stopping them 
except to manually pull them the out of the ground

its recommended not to use the weed and feed products 
that you see advertised at the big box stores and on 
tv and on the radio
those weed and feed contain chemicals such as atrazine
that is not good for the environment
its actually banned in europe canada and other countries
where the chemical companies dont have so much 
political influence

there are 3.3 million tons of atrazine dumped on the state 
of texas each year mostly via agriculture
it is found in most city water systems
(note my water system has 0 ppm of atrazine in it since i 
have a rainwater system so my frogs in my pond only have
two eyes and four legs)

if you follow the instructions and apply this stuff when its 
recommended it doesnt work as the weeds have already seeded
and started growing

so what do you do 

you add a product called corn gluten which is a by product of 
corn production
you can get it from your local nursery or feed store
it inhibits seed production 
if you want to know if it works just put some on your garden or
your yard then plant seeds or grass seeds 
you wont get any seed germination 

now in central texas is the time to apply corn gluten to your yard
before the winter weeds begin to germinate
then repeat the application again in february to control the 
spring weeds
you apply it like you would a fertilizer and water it in so 
the yellow color is washed away
this gets it into the soil

the corn gluten also acts as a mild organic fertilizer
spill some on your yard and see how green it will get in that spot

so dont weed and feed just corn gluten your yard
for the sake of your kids and your frogs

SEEDING TIME

if you live in central texas its time to put out wildflower seeds 
so they will have time to sprout before the spring

you can get them from your local nursery but i get mine 
from the native american seed company 
another source is the wildseed farms

to sow them its a good idea to rake up bare spots in your yard
sow the seeds then rake them in then walk all over them as 
this pushes them into the soil
then let mother nature do the rest

you can just sow them about your yard but youll get better 
seed germination by doing it this way and 
in the spring it will be worth it 

i have noticed that some of my bluebonnets have already popped
up out of the ground

the organicgreen doctor

birds 5 togd 1, wildflowers

BIRDS 5 TOGD 1
we have lived peacefully here at the country n now for the last
10 years with the birds
snakes lizards and other varmints around here
until recently

the birds have decided after 10 years that they like the rafters on
our upper deck to use to roost on at night
we have no problem with that
however it became quite messy so
i decided it was time to get them to move on to another site

i asked them to please not roost there any more
that was like talking to your kids and asking them
to keep their feet off the furniture

birds 1 togd 0

next i scared them off whenever they came up to roost
they were quite persistent
after i went back inside they would drift back up to the rafters
and have a good nights sleep

birds 2 togd 0

next i took netting and waded it up and placed it that is i stapled
it to the rafters

they just pulled the loose ends out or just nested on top of the netting
we now have black netting adorning much of our shrubs and trees

birds 3 togd 0

next i did a google search as google as the answer to everything
how to get birds off the rafters
hang an owl it said
so i ordered a realistic looking plastic owl and hung him off
the rafters

the wind would blow him around
heck he looked real
it even scared me more than once when i
went outside on the deck and saw that scowling owl at my
face level
even my wife she got scared when she woke up one morning
and there that owl was staring at her

the first night the birds flew in and saw those owl you could hear
them hit their brakes as they flew in
you could hear them shreak when they flew into the area where
the owl was

well this only worked for a few nights then they figured it out that
that was a fake owl
at least they didnt land on him

birds 4 togd 0

next i went back to google again
google know it all said try fake snakes
so i ordered these fake snakes

dang they look real and put them in the rafters
scared the heck out of those birds
you could hear them shreak again a they flew in to roost
i think they said oh  ^*#(
but again after a few nights they came back and actually pulled the
snakes out of the rafters

birds 5 togd 0

then i was talking to my friend on the phone and told him about the birds
he said i went down to ace hardware and got this sticky stuff and put
on the rafters and those birds wouldnt land on the rafters any more
got rid of them that way

so i went down to the ace hardware and got this stuff and
applied it on the rafters

and dang that stuff works great
no birds in over a week

birds 5 togd 1

and i scored last so i may have won this battle

WILDFLOWERS
the bluebonnets are beautiful this year
although not the best weve ever had as i had thought earlier in the year
but there appears to be so many other wildflowers that are doing good
that the combination makes the fields even more beautiful
heres a view of one of my pastures

the organicgreen doctor

bluebonnets, snakessssssss

BLUEBONNETS
as preditcted the bluebonnets will be good this year
especially as we have more rain coming this spring
here is a picture of a area of bare ground that bluebonnets
took root in

here is the same area 3 months later

this use to be a 3 foot circle of bare ground that the bluebonnets
have taken over and covered the bare area
this is how they work in nature to stabillize the bare areas to
keep them from erosion

here is part of my front yard that is mostly all bluebonnets
with some clover mixed it

this is how nature does grasslands
a lot of this was bare because of the drought

should be a beautiful showing this year

this is our first bluebonnet here at the country n

we hope to have thousands more
this is the year of the bluebonnet
be ready to tour the hill country this spring
as it could be awhile before they are this good

interesting that this bluebonnet planted itself in my crushed
granite driveway-the worst soil on my property
now have to drive around it so it can continue to grow

SNAKESSSSSSSS
ok my best medical school friends wife
if you are reading my blog you need to stop now
i know how much you are scared of snakes and snake stories

do you still have that realistic rubber snake we gave you for christmas
that year that came in its own aquarium and was wrapped
so pretty

i have written several blogs about snakes
they all seem to involve my wife she
some of the snake events i dont dare let her know about
she would not live here anymore if she only knew

once she was in our hot tub on our deck

she was sitting in the tub looking out towards the river just
enjoying herself in the mid day while i was working in the
yard to her left
see that rain water tank next to the hot tub

(thats our movie star tank that was in a movie made
in austin
it was painted to look like a corroded industrial tank
we managed to buy it after the movie was made and left
it as it is)

as i was working and she was chilling out i looked up and there
on the top of that rain water tank was a big ole chicken or rat
snake just coiled up looking down at my wife she in that tub

i kept my moouth shut and went on working in the yard
she never knew until i did my blog on this uneventful event

it would have been fun to watch though if they snake would
have fallen into that hot tub

talkin about streakin
that would have been some streakin to watch and of course to
listen to
or
she might have just had a heart attack there in the hot tub

recently in the blog world i made contact with a new blogger
she has only written two blogs
she is a photographer who is deathly afraid of snakes
like my medical school best friends wife (are you still reading this)
and like my wife she

her best friend has pet snakes
and wanted to have her photograph the snakes
so she did

she must be a brave lady
heres the blog littledeerphotography.blogspot.com
telling what happened that day

sure would like my medical friends wife and my wife she to
get a picture like the last one in her blog

the organicgreen doctor

simple quote, vetch, bluebonnets

QUOTE
life is really simple
but we insist on making it complicated
by confucius

so this is what our problem is
when you think it about it

as i sit here on my dell computer hooked up to a verizon card
writing this blog with my smart phone adroid attached to the
computer getting charged to be ready for the days activity
and im drinking my organically grown coffee that i ground and
made fresh today

ive also just reviewed my messages and facebook and responded to
people from across the us

lets not complicate our lives
lets keep them simply simple
its is hard to do

VETCH
although im a little late i will be planting some vetch
today in my dormant areas of my garden since we
will be having a week or more of warmer weather



vetch is an annual legume that fixes nitrogen in the soil
its called a green manure crop
it will grow until i get ready to plant my crops this spring
my beds are 4x12 ft raised beds
ill sow the seeds across the beds and let them grow
if they get too high ill mow them down to about 4-6 inches

when i get ready to plant for example my tomatoes i will
simply plant them in the middle of the vetch
as the vetch dies it leaves its nitrogen and nutrition in the soil
for the tomatoes to utilize
the vetch will also act as a mulch for the tomatoes

after the tomatoes are through producing this summer i will
plant a cover crop of black eyed peas which will do the same
as the vetch does in the fall and the winter
the black eyed peas will also be picked and eaten this summer
to go along with my other summer crops

then next fall ill replant the vetch again as i leave the area dormant
the cycle continues

this method of using cover crops provides a natural source of nutrition
and nitrogen to the soil

BLUEBONNETS
here is a picture of some baby bluebonnets

this is in an area of bare ground where the grass died from
the drought this year
the bare areas are covered with these baby bluebonnets
these bluebonnets are already running their roots into the soil
to help stabilize it and keep the top soil from eroding away
this is one of their purposes in nature

you cant see them but there are native grass seeds in the soil there
and other wild flowers that will sprout this spring and take the
place of the bluebonnets

if we continue to get rain throughout the winter to keep moisture
to these little guys
we should have one of the best bluebonnet showings we had
in awhile

some of these are seeds i scattered in the bare ground and most
have just been sitting there waiting for nature to do the right thing
to encourage their sprouting and growth
they all set out last year since it was so dry

there should be some great bluebonnet pictures next spring
be ready with your cameras

the organicgreen doctor

frozed, post interview, bluebonnets

FROZED
every fall i battle the temperature as it starts to fall
trying to inch out a few more days of growth so that my
tomatoes, christmas limas, peppers, basil, egg plant and
malabar spinach can provide a a slightly better harvest

we live here in the country n in a bowl where the land
slopes as it goes down to the river
because of this the night time temps can dip down several
degrees more than nearby communities

should learn my lesson watching the news and seeing the
predicted temperatures as we also always get slightly
colder than they do

this year saw the temp was going to go down so went
out and covered my maters, peppers etc with good thick
row cover that gives 7 degrees of protection

was afraid to look for several days but when i peeked under
that row cover
i was real disappointed because all of my nice green tomatoes
were mushy and light green
should have picked them and wrapped them up in newspapers
like i did last year (had maters past christmas last year)
wont happen this year
chickens loved the frozed maters though

my christmas lima beans  i was so proud of them were growing
great and had a lot of maturing pods on them
they look so sad now
wilty light green drooping bean vines
no limas this year

next year im determined to grow those damn limas i nurtured since
april and used a lot of precious rainwater on them this summer
to keep them going
disappointed but more determined as ever to grow those thangs

(did give some seeds to my rainwater brother he  maybe hell grow
some next year in his slightly warmer climate and share with me)

glad im not farming for a living

do have cole crops, asian greens, arugula, swiss chard, lettuce,
spinach, turnips, carrots, beets (for my wife she not me) and
garlic in my winter garden

all is not lost

POST INTERVIEW
have been interviewed twice about azheimers
the 2nd was yesterday and will be interviewed again on
thursday in dallas

am impressed at how good these reporters are in the jobs
they do
in both of the interviews which lasted about 2 hours each
the reporters were able to understand and get the essence of
what i feel, my family feels, my patients feel, my fellow employees feel
by asking the right questions and picking up sometimes on a single
word then developing more about it

am impressed
we dont give these talented reporters enough credit
these are real reporters not just someone who spits out
what others have written
we need more of them in the news industry not less of them

am pleased with yesterdays interview as the essence was caught
it should be published in sundays austin-american statesman
here is their website www.statesman.com

BLUEBONNETS
this year was an awful blue bonnet season here
was the worst since we have lived at the country n
the drought took its tool as we got little rain last winter
i was disappointed as i had put out a lot of new bluebonnet
seeds last fall

guess they saved themselves for this coming year
we got 4 inches of rain here last month and the bluebonnets
have responded like i have not seen here before

they are so thick in my pastures that i hate to even walk
anywhere because they get crushed
individual plants were so rare last year i tried to protect
everyone of them that came up

if we get enough rain this winter we should have a bumper crop

cant wait
know lady bird would be happy

the organicgreen doctor

its ok, less blue, duct tape

ITS OK
now its ok to not make your bed
hope my wife she reads this
according to dr oz its ok not to make the bed
why
it can cut down on bedbug infestations

apparently making the bed traps moisture  in
the bed so that the bed bugs can thrive

now know why i never had bed bugs
know teenagers and kids will love this excuse
now moms wont have to harass their kids to make
their beds
they still have to clean up their rooms though

or what if you just slept on the covers would that work
just as well

LESS BLUE

its official
the ladybird wildflower center just announced that the
blue bonnets will not be as good this year

we already knew this
last year at this time our yard and pasture was covered with
blue bonnets that were several inches high
they were the best we have ever had here

blue bonnets are the blue flowers that you see in pictures of
pastures in texas (this picture is of our yard and one of our
pastures last year)
they are quite a site to see when the blue bonnet season is at
its best
ladybird did a lot to promote wildflower seedings along texas
highways especially the blue bonnets

in our pastures they are there but not as much as last year and
are only a few inches tall but are more prominent than we had
orginally thought we would have

maybe indian blankets (fire wheel)
will be good this year
they add a splash of yellow and
red to the pastures







DUCT TAPE
my younger son he had his window smashed and things stolen
out of his car
dont that just piss you off
have had it happen to me before
not a dam thing you can do about it
just file the police report, call the insurance company, and have it
replaced
hopefully the insurance will replace the stolen stuff and pay for the
glass repair without the deductible
did not work for me

he has a gray car
told him to get some gray duct tape to cover up the window
he could do it on both sides so it would match
dont think he thought that was funny

may be the insurance will come through
but for $6.99 its a cheap fix and it matches

the organicgreen doctor

weed free, monarchs, birds, bluebonnets

WEED FREE
how to be weed free
pull em up or hoe them
it is totally organic
also you get fresh air, exericise and get some dirt on your hands
i usually add them to my compost pile
the chickens will eat some of them also

weeds to compost for the garden
cant beat that
a bad thing becomes a good thing

cover them with clear or black plastic and leave them covered for a
period of time and the weeds will be dead
this is called solarization and is good for a large area of weeds
you want to get rid of
seal the edges with soil or rocks or boards and leave in place
the longer the better
this fries those bad weeds

cover the weeds with a board or piece of plywood
they will eventually die

cover them with newspapers and mulch
the weeds die and the newspapers and mulch breakdown to add
nutrition to the soil

if you use a spray please dont use roundup
would you spray that stuff on your kids or pets
there are other ways to kill those weeds without using something
that you dont want in the water system or on your family

use instead vinegar sprays
you can buy these at many nurseries or
you can make them yourself

i use pickling vinegar from the grocery store-it is usually about
10% vinegar
in 1 gallon add 1 tsp of orange oil and 1 tsp of liquid soap
put in a spray bottle and spray those bad guys
remember this will kill the good guys also
spray it on yourself and you will see why it works so well
i seem to do it everytime i use it
(at least it doesnt make me dizzy and blurryeyed like that other
product does-cant be good for you if it causes those symptoms)

you can also use just plain old hot boiling water
that kills the weeds
definitely dont get that stuff on your skin-ouch

the vinegar mixture breaks down fairly rapidly in the soil

lesson-pull, hoe, cover, or spray with organic mixture or hot water
dont use the bad stuff

MONARCHS
the monarchs are coming
a few have been sighted in this area
their plant host is milkweed and milk vine
plant them if you can
the numbers will be increased significantly this year
enjoy them

BIRDS
the blue birds are here at our place
have several blue bird houses for them to house themselves
they have  a distinctive bird song
as many of you know they were headed to extinction at one time
but now because of the use of blue bird houses and conservation of
some of their habitats they have made a comeback

their arrival means spring is almost here

saw my first purple martins last week
those are called scouts but really they are not scouts
they are on their way up north
we usually get several couples in our eight unit house
purple martins eat tons of insects and remind me of fighter jets
as they swarm around after the insects in the morning and the
evening

they need open space, water and need to be close to humans
if you get them to your place they are worth the effort


BLUEBONNETS
was worried the bluebonnets werent coming this year but it looks
like the season will be a fair one
it will be nothing like last year as that was the best in years

in our pastures and the surrounding ranches the blue bonnets are
here but with these reduced numbers
hopefully there will be patches of them for pictures for people this year

HORNS
they are on a downward spiral
reminiscent of last years decline
the ending may not be pretty again this year unless they get it
all together

the season which i wait for is just now beginning
will be do a ton of basketball game watching with the conference
tournaments and march madness then nba playoffs

my wife she has lost her househusband now for awhile

the organicgreen doctor