tomato obsession

TOMATO OBSESSION
most of us organic gardeners
have an obsession of growing a perfect tomato
and
dream of biting into its juicy insides
a true sink tomato
theres
nothing like the flavor of these tomatoes

so i am alway looking at ways to grow a better tomato

as the weather gets hotter
the ground gets drier
i have a drip system from my rainwater tanks that i use
to drip my tomato plants when they need water
plus
i mulch them quite heavy to save water evaporation

this year i will mulch them with pine straw
my older brother the one with early alzheimers
and my nephew brought bags of it for me to use as mulch
he my nephew raises pine trees so he has an ample supply

it supplies besides moisture retention
an increase in acid ph to the soil
which around here we have a high or alkaline soil
so between the rainwaters lower ph and the compost and the pine straw
the ph is lowered some
which tomatoes love

but
im always looking for more

so someone sent a link to this method
so im trying it this year

first you take 5 gallon buckets
these i get from the habitat builds
these were destined for the landfill
and

drill holes in the bottom so water can ooze out
into the soil

then
you go up the side and drill holes about 10 inches all the way around

then
you bury the bucket to the depth of the 10 inch holes

then
in the bucket you place 2 shovelfuls of compost

i used the country n compost that our chickens
so gratuitously made for us
they scratch all over the leaves veggies we place in the bin
then make frequent deposits as they work and play and eat
making this rich country n compost

then
1-2 times a week based on the moisture level of the soil
i will pour in a bucket of water
sending
the compost liquid deep into the soil
and
watering the top of the soil from the 10 inch holes

hoping
this will help make that
much sought after

delicious sink tomato

the organicgreen doctor

tomato dreams

TOMATO DREAMS
so heres the deal
in central texas if you want tomatoes
you have to pick the right varieties
get them in the ground asap
since when the ground warms enough to plant
you are on the clock pushing those plants to make
fruit before the heat hits
since
once that heat hits here
those tomatoes are usually done for

if you delay the process any along the way
you may not get tomatoes

each year it seems something happens to throw
a wrench in the system
too much rain
hail storms
too little rain
late freezes this seems to happen every april
early summer now this one seems to hit us every year
infestation of pests

despite all this
we and most gardeners around here still plant those tomatoes
sometimes several times before we get a crop

if you can get them in the ground early
keep them from freezing
get them far enough along
before it starts to warm up
you might get a good crop

like last year
i planted them a month early
in a deep hole
covered it with a 5 gallon bucket
covered all that up with row cover and blankets
and
i had a fairly good crop

now i started this year tomatoes destined for the northern us
thinking i would put them in pots and move them in and out
of the greenhouse
ive never started them from seed before
i learned this year that i should have used a warmer under
my pots to speed things up
so far out of 10 pots i have just two plants that made it

they are called glacier
with a name like that they should do good in this weather
i plan to transplant them into my garden this week

so this year i spoke with a gardener who does this

she takes these candles i think they are prayer candles
maybe what you are suppose to do
is light them and start praying they wont freeze

she buries them in the ground to almost the top
lights it when its cold
puts a pot over it
the small cover over the hole is removed
air comes under the pot over the flames and out the top
like a chimney or tepee
in her 12 ft bed she uses about 3-4 of these

the bed is then covered with thick row cover
she gets her first tomatoes in early april
so
i tired it
in my large bed
after two nights of 28 degree weather my tomatoes froze
looked like someone sucked all the juice out of them
limp as could be

but
in my circular bed for some reason
the tomatoes i planted
a juliette and a sweet 100 tomato survived
and actually have doubled in size
i plan to plant the glacier there also
so maybe this method will work after all

the true test will be this am when i peak under
the layers of row covers to see if it works
after several days of freezing weather and
sleet and ice
oh by the way the candles will burn up to a week

now
i plan to replant that 12 ft bed
plant those tomatoes in the hole thats the depth of a
1 gallon pot
as it grows ill cover its trunk with dirt
during cold spells ill cover it with the 5 gallon bucket
but
i will light those candles again with the clay pot over them
then
cover it all with row covers
hoping
this time the big bed conglomeration will work
since
i want to get those tomatoes in asap
so
we can eat them asap

i can dream cant i

the organicgreen doctor

garden update

GARDEN UPDATE
as the longest day is past
and the dog days of summer will start today as
we start a run of 100+ degree temperature days
its reassessment and clean up time here at the country n

we have 10 acres with 9 acres of it being pasture land that
i have decided to let go back to nature a few years ago
i planted some native grasses and have selectively let cedars
hackberries and other trees grow back in them
i have also have planted some native trees such as oaks
and cedars to supplement as visual breaks and shade trees

since we had done this we have noticed a return of more animals
and birds and butterflies to the property
we also supply 3 watering troughs of water and two smaller
waterers for the animals to access

this year we had a showy display of different wildflowers
especially bluebonnets fire wheels and bee balms

the one acre in the middle of the property is where our
house sits and is fenced with a 7 ft fence to keep out
the deer

each spring i let the wildflowers grow until they go to seed
then i go in and mow them down and leave them on the ground
to provide seeds for birds and for next years crop of wildflowers

sometimes though like this year it can look like a jungle around
our house
real snake habitat
know my wife she worries about that a lot in the spring

now its mowing time
it takes me 2-3 days to mow weedeat and pick up
excessive clippings

this year i was given a new blade for my weedeater
dang wish i had used this before

its dry here 
its especially noticeable when i mowed and can actually see
the ground

the 1/2 inch of rain yesterday just barely moistened the dust layer

now to the garden
its decision time as my water for irrigation is getting low
i will have to decide which things to continue to water and which
to just pull up and call it over with until the fall

remember the fall is the best time to garden here in central texas

this year i planted a 4 x 12 ft bed i call my summer garden
it has things that will grow in the heat and things that will last
until winter time
okra  malabar spinach  pursalane  christmas lima beans
sweet 100 tomato  juliet tomato  bell pepper
sweet banana pepper  jalapeno pepper  two different basils
swiss chard  and arugula

i now will only water this bed and let the rest of the garden go
then this fall will plant another 4 x 12 bed with my fall garden

here is some of my tomato produce for the year
the canned jars are tomatoes
the varieties of tomatoes are celebrities  cherokee purple  lemon boy
sweet 100  juliet  roma  porter  an unlabelled heirloom
and brandywine

the pumpkin is a sugar or minature pumpkin that we will cook and
can like winter squash
its part of the 3 sisters we planted-corn  beans  pumpkins

overall a good spring garden that
is coming to a end
its time to shut it down and compost whats left

the organicgreen doctor

rip, rosemary, update, whew

RIP
rip leslie cochran
the iconic keep austin weird guy
there will never be another one
we have pictures of him in his thong and high heels
heck he even got 30% of the vote for mayor once
wouldnt that have been fun if he had won
talk about keeping austin weird
it would have been downhill after that

do rip leslie
you gave us all memories
helped us forget for a few minutes what else was
happening in the world
well all miss you
well try to keep austin weird in your memory

(for those who dont know who leslie was here is
an article from the austin american statesman)

ROSEMARY

this is about the plant and not some person
a researcher took people and put them in a room with the
scent of rosemary in the room
the chemical is called 1 8 cineole that makes that distinctive odor

those who were in the room with the rosemary did better on
math quizzes than those who did the quizzes in a room without
the rosemary chemical

in one test they did those subtract seven tests
100-7=93-7=85
oops didnt smell my rosemary this am

maybe using rosemary might help someone with
mild cognitive impairment or alzheimers disease

think i reach over and grab a rosemary branch as i walk out
my door each morning
and
maybe ill put a sprig in my pocket when i go back for my
annual followup for the adni study next month in dallas

UPDATE
was asked a lot recently how im doing so heres an update

i still notice some subtle changes on memory that are not
noticeable to others even my wife she

i function normally doing all the things i like to do and some i
dont like to do like dishes washing etc

i am still on aricept (donepezil) and have noticed fewer of the
side effects as i use to-no nausea, less leg cramps, less restlessness
but still have some problems with sleep which i compensate by
doing a short noon nap (just try to call me after lunch)

hopefully this is not the calm before the storm or
hopefully im not gettting a placebo pill that the manufacturer
is screwing up on

i keep up with alzheimers research and whats happening with
alzheimers and try to write about some of it here in this blog

my annual visit is next month where i will do a 1 year follow up on
the alzheimers disease nuclear imaging initiative
adni
it was started about 6 months after i was diagnosed
so i have a baseline that was done 18 months ago

i will have a neuropsychological exam, blood work by the gallons
a neurological evaluation and a mri scan

its another year before i get a spinal tap again
(know my wife she is looking forward to that one since
she fainted last time-how could she do that when she
was way down the hall and didnt ever see or hear
anything-guess she just cares a lot)

also in a year i will get the beta amyloid pet scan and the
glucose metabolism pet scan done
well something to look forward to there

what i realize is clichéc but
you have to seize the moment
each day i do what i like to do (except for the dishes) and try to enjoy the day

maybe thats what everyone should be doing huh

WHEW
well i know i told everyone dont get your plants yet and
stick them in the ground cause the cold weather will come
back and get your plants
dont succumb to the good weather fever

i went to my favorite organic nursery to get some good garden
soil for a project here and for the square foot garden im doing for
the habitat home owner

oh my goodness omg those tomato plants were so beautiful
just run your hands across those plants and then smell your hands
man i could do calculus in my head after doing that
didnt need no rosemary for this

those peppers egg plants herbs
sorry i just couldnt help myself
i bought all the plants i needed for my garden then went home
it was so nice and warm then
i said to myself
dont do it dont do it
remember your potatoes just got nipped by the frost this week
so
i didnt plant them in the ground but instead put them in my little
greenhouse with my heater and decided to wait

am glad i did or they would look like my taters do now
all black and shrivelled up (dont worry theyll come back out)

guess i learned my lesson after the last 10 years of planting my
maters too early
maybe ill plant them next weekend or the next

the organicgreen doctor

square foot garden, be careful

SQUARE FOOT GARDEN

my wife she and i are going to donate a new
square foot garden to the new homeowner of
the habitat for humanity house im working on

i took some left over 2x6 untreated boards and
made a 4 ft frame with reinforcement of  the corners

i then ran some wire every foot across the frame to
make 1 square foot spaces for planting

we will dig up 6 inches of soil from the garden spot
and place the soil in her compost pile
then will line the bottom of the hole
with cardboard that will extend up to the top of the boards

this will block all weeds from popping through
then will line this wilh sheets of newspapers
this will help hold in moisture and will provide some food for worms
they love newspapers

(the home owner has deep soil not like my thin caliche soil so as the
newspapers and cardboard break down and the compost composts
her deep soil will  only get better
her garden should be better each year)

then will surround the frame with plastic sheeting covered with
mulch or crushed granite to keep away grass and weeds

we then will dump into the hole and frame good organic garden soil that
was purchased at the natural gardeners store
it has all the goodies needed to plant and grow vegetables
compost, green sand, minerals, good bacteria and good fungi

the home owner will be able to just plant her vegetables and
then just water and wait for the crops to come in

we also will be adding a 1 ft diameter cylinder of concrete wire with
an inner ring of chicken wire which will be placed in the middle of the garden
it will be buried 1-2 ft into the soil and will extend 2-3 ft over
the top of the soil
this will be filled with compost material and will be watered well
as it composts down she will be able to add more compost material
and water
this will feed and partially water this 4 ft square garden

its my version of a keyhole square foot garden

when its all completed i will post a picture of it

also all that green stuff in that picture is all weeds that are surrounding
my barn
many of your yards look this way
you cant spray your way out of all these weeds
keep em mowed so they wont set seed
read my last weeks blog to amy on what to do

BE CAREFUL
its so unseasonably warm here you have to be careful and
avoid that urge to stick the maters and peppers in the ground
if you do and you live around here they will probably get nipped
by a frost that is probably coming

i know because i do it every year and usually lose them
you can put them in pots and move them inside and out every
day then transplant them into the garden later on in march

last year the tomatoes that did the best
which isnt saying much since none of them did well last year
i put in a large container and kept it in a small green house
until the first week of april then planted it

be sure and prep your garden bed with 1-2 inches of compost
and add some organic fertilizer over the bed also
make sure and keep it watered if we dont get rain
then all you have to do is plant the veggies when the
day comes

this year my goal is to avoid the urge
if i can

the organicgreen doctor

what to do, tomater star

WHAT TO DO
this is a question i get a lot especially recently maybe because of
the holidays
these questions come in on email, texts, facebook, this blog and in
personal phone calls or conversations

what do i do if i think i have short term memory problems or if a
relative has short term memory problems

its simple get it checked out
sometimes these things are treatable
sometimes what you are worried about is just normal aging

what happened in my situation was different
i did not go in looking for an evaluation or complaining of a problem

i had a normal mental status evaluation for long term care and passed
then 1 year later while volunteering for a alzheimers research study as
a normal volunteer i underwent a neuropsychological evaluation that
showed i had short term memory problems greater than expected
for my age and my degree of education
thus the mess i am in now was discovered

if you think you have a problem whether some one else notices it or
not you should get evaluated
the goal is to look for treatable causes-anemia, depression, low thyroid,
b12 deficiency, stroke, sleep problems etc
you want these things and not the big A

go to your primary care provider or neurologist or psychiatrist
and talk to them
if you think theres a problem dont take dont worry about it for an
answer

you need a complete neurological history and physical examination
looking for abnormalities
evaluate any history of drug or alcohol abuse or head trauma or
family history of the big A

you need some type of mental status evaluation
-mmse (this one is not as thorough and is commonly used)
(it misses my deficits), its done in the doctors office
-moca test is more thorough in picking up a problem (it picks up my problem)
it is also done in the doctors office and
-a neuropsychological examination if there is still a question you should
have it done by a psychologist or neuropyschologist
the neuropsychological examination is the gold standard to use to evaluate
short term memory loss

you should be screened for depression
you should make sure there is no sleep disorders such as sleep apnea

here are the labs that are usually done
complete blood count, complete metabolic profile (electrolytes, glucose,
kidney functions, liver function tests), vitamin b12, syphilis screen, hiv test,
tsh (thyroid test for low thyroid function), urinalysis
these are looking for some of the treatable causes of memory loss

then if these are all normal you should have a mri of the brain to rule out
stroke, tumors, aneurysm, increased fluid, and shrinkage of the brain

if all these are normal and the mental status exam confirms a problem with
short term memory then it is possible that you are dealing with the big A

you and your doctor will need to look at all the information and make a
clinical decision on whether this is what you have-the big A

soon you will be able to get biomarkers done on blood, in the spinal fluid,
and beta amyloid pet scans to get a more definitive answer
i had some of those done

if it appears to be the big A
would recommend you start treatment as early as possible
it gives you time with your family that youll lose if you dont
it gives you time to prepare for the future
even though it wont cure you most people opt for treatment
i did

TOMATER STAR
my wifes shes tomato she has at her school will become a tv star
this weekend on klrus central texas gardener at 1200 noon and
at 400 pm
ive told the story of that tomater before
will leave it to the tv show to do the complete job

cant wait to plant one of these weird ones this spring in the garden
and see what grows

the organicgreen doctor

dreams, tomato, winterize garden, dental fu

DREAMS
one of the side effects of taking aricept (donepezil) is that you
have these fantastic dreams
the dreams are vivid hd dreams
they are never violent or disturbing

last night in my dream my wife she and my cowgirl sisterinlaw she
went horseback riding
my younger son he went to work out at the gym
my brothers and i and my parents were staying at a cabin in the
mountains somewhere am not sure where
it was a beautiful place

they were all late getting back from their rides and gym and our
meal got cold
it was raccoon cooked with an apple in its mouth
(i ran into a racoon early the morning before getting into
our cats food-teach him huh)
there was dressing and greens and veggies surrounding that
old raccoon
i got mad cause they were late but didnt yell or throw things
just gave them my stare that im told i have
no violence

later we all got together again at a mountain resort that had an
alzheimers center and we had a similar meal that was enjoyed
by all
although i dont remember eating any coon in my dream

woke up and felt like i was still in that resort
just hope my wife she didnt leave me there

TOMATO

this is the tomato called the taylor mater since it is from taylor
it was left in a house this summer when the air conditioner
went off
when the family returned when the ac was fixed the
tomato had begun to sprout things all around the tomato
that made it look like it came down from outer space

so my wife she was given it by her friend and i and others recommend
she plant it in a pot

so she did and put it in the garden (of course its organic) that she has
at school
he has grown it all fall in that pot
now that it is cold she moved it inside and put it in her window that
gets sun all day
its thriving
she had sent progressive pictures to me and to the central texas
gardening show on klru here in austin
they plan to show the pictures and talk about it on their jan 7th show

here is the link www.klru.org/ctg
check it out on saturday january 7, 2012

now wonder if it will produce some tomatoes
hope they arent all knarley and warty like

WINTERIZE GARDEN
if you live in this area or where its cold you need to winterize
your garden
ive covered all my veggie beds with row cover that will provide
several degrees of protection

ive add mulch to a lot of my plants in the landscape
those susceptible to freezing that are in pots have been
moved inside or into a small green house ive made in my
garage
have my lemons and oranges in there and they are producing ok

when the weather warms up some i will take the row cover off
then replace it when the cold weather returns

DENTAL FU
well that wasnt bad
in and out in 15 minutes like the burger place with that name
only slight pain with application of the new crown

maybe ill return again if its going to be that easy next time
maybe its like having a baby
where you forget what it was like so you have another one

supposedly theres a chemical that is produced in females that
causes them to forget what it was like

maybe that chemical could be used after you have a dental procedure
dont think i want to have a baby to find out

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

tomato take two, end alz day, video

TOMATO TAKE TWO
ok will try this again
i use google to do this blog
for some reason it doesnt like this picture of this tomato
i agree it does look scary
this tomato may actually make it on a local garden show
my wife she and her students are making a project out of
monitoring it as it develops

the person who owned this tomato had her electricity go out
at her house (no she did not live in san diego)
the tomato was left in this hot environment and according
to gardening people consulted the tomato acted like a
hot house for the tomato seeds

here is attempt number two

dang thats an ugly tomato

END ALZ



todays the day
its end alz day
alzheimers action day
wear something purple
a dress, a shirt, necklace, earrings, shoes, pants
to symbolize your support against this awful disease

VIDEO
my wife she and i will be making a video today at ut southwestern
medical center with a staff neurologist today
we of course will have our purple shirts on to support the end alz
movement

the video will be used to teach medical students and residents how
to do mental status exams on patients being evaluated for dementia
think maybe practicing doctors should also consider watching this
video

wish i knew what i know now about alzheimers and its evaluation
when i was practicing medicine in the clinic
would sure have done a better job caring for patients and finding
them with problems earlier

go purple today

the organicgreen doctor

weird tomato, end alz, no rain, gamers, chocolate yum

WEIRD TOMATO
some one at my wifes shes work sat this mater aside and
later look what happened
it looks like a mutant tomato
wonder if it got nuked by something or
was it all that chemical crap thats put on tomatoes to get
them to grow and look like we want them to look
so they will sell

must not be an organic mater

wonder what would have happened if she had
eaten this thing
would it have grown and taken over her body
would tomatoes have grown out her ears

no
what happened was
the tomato was sat on a window sill and the tomato
acted like a green house for the tomato seeds
and they sprouted and are growing

my wife she and her students are monitoring its growth
with photos
well see what happens
just dont eat it though
dont want no mutant wife she on my hands

END ALZ


tomorrow is alzheimers action day
wear something purple tomorrow to support the battle against this
terrible disease
september is world alzheimers month

NO RAIN
to answer all the inquiries about did we get rain
no we did not
dang it
the drought continues
now cities are starting to fight for water from water sources
rain please

GAMERS
gamers do it better
seems gamers managed to unlock the structure of an important
protein thats involved with the aids virus
computers couldnt do the 3 d imaging so the gamers were used
and of course playing dungeon and dragons that did it
apparently its an important breakthrough
maybe all those video game playing those gamers do
were and are worth it huh

CHOCOLATE YUM
well now there is more proof chocolate is good for you
didnt need the evidence to make me want to eat more

apparently it was shown in a recent study to decrease the number
of cardiovascular events in those who ate chocolate vs those
who didnt
it already may help with alzheimers diseae

so more brownies and snickers in your diet

wear purple tomorrow
the organicgreen doctor