So this happened half an hour ago, at 10 pm. I’m sitting in my living room, working on the laptop. Suddenly there is a racket in the street. A small dog barking very, very loudly? Surely that’s not a dog? I go outside with my flashlight. It’s 10F and I’m wearing a skirt and a …
Category Archives: natural world
Of Calcium in the Soil – Part 7
This is already the seventh part in a series on how calcium and other nutrients get into the soil and then into plants. Here we finally meet the plant roots, and investigate how they take up water. Click to read part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4, part 5 and part 6. ~ …
Of Calcium in the Soil – Part 6
O, that egg again! We’ve arrived at Part 6 if this extraordinary saga of how calcium arrives and behaves in the soil (if I’ve occasionally typed “soul” instead of “soil”, is it really a typo?). Click to catch up on part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 and part 5. ~ 6. Soil …
Of Calcium in the Soil – Part 5
This is part 5 of a series on how nutrients, mainly calcium, get into our soil and vegetables (click for part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4). It is the longest and most difficult part of my expose, and the least “popular” one, judging by the fact that the issues discussed will not …
Of Calcium in the Soil – Part 4
We’ve reached part 4 of this riveting story of how calcium and other nutrients make it into into the soil and thence into our vegetables and thence into our own bodies (and into chicken eggs). We’ve had some cliffhangers already, so be sure to check out parts one, two and three. ~ 4. Solubility, carbonation …
Of Calcium in the Soil – Part 3
This is the third article in a series on how calcium and other nutrients end up inside our vegetables, and on how to interpret certain soil test results. It is preceded by part 1 and part 2. ~ 3. Water and pH Let’s investigate the water in the soil. For one, water brings the minerals …
Of Calcium in the Soil – Part 2
This is the second article in a series on how calcium and other nutrients end up inside our vegetables, and on how to interpret certain soil test results. You can read the first part here. ~ 2. The soil’s ability to hold on to this calcium: colloids and cation exchange capacity The soil needs to …
Of Eggshells and Calcium in Soil, Compost – Part 1
It was the combination of finding an eggshell in the compost and staring at our soil test results that did it. I started researching and one thing led to another. But I figured it out, the basics of it, anyway. The result is a long text, so I’m serializing it over the next couple of …
Continue reading “Of Eggshells and Calcium in Soil, Compost – Part 1”
Outside: Dust Mites and Animals Tracks
While the dust mites in the bedding were freezing (to death, hopefully)… We warmed up this cold but sunny morning by splitting and sorting firewood, playing with a neighbor’s dog, and scouting out some animal tracks. Here are some tiny bird tracks next to my fingerprint: And these are some huge bird prints next to …
Best Book
Edible Forest Gardens, vol.1 (It’s on sale at Chelsea Green)