The drought is not letting up and all the plants we were able to move from Caldwell to Smithville are suffering or are already dead. Our plans to reopen our touring gardens are on hold until this dry and hot weather gives us a break. We fear the repeat of the Texas drought in the early 1950′s that lasted from 1950 through 1957. We began to wonder if we could survive if this drought lasted even a couple of years. Certainly we could not establish our theme herb gardens this year and it has been awful to watch the herbs we were able to plant in the spring just burn up in the heat.

We began thinking of alternatives for our desire to grow herbs and vegetables in this unforgiving dry period here in central Texas. Many years ago I read an article about a project I think was in North Carolina that used a unique application of hydroponics, growing plants in water. The twist in the article intrigued me and remained in the back of my mind for years. The project incorporated two aqua-farming systems into a wonderful closed cycle system that produced both fish and plants for the table. Since I could not work in the gardens, I was looking around the internet for interesting subjects one day and came across the word “aquaponics”.

When I talked to my husband, Bud, about this new word he said he also had been intrigued with the subject years ago. It seems while we were working on our herb farm, others were advancing the idea of combining “hydroponics plant growing” and “fish farming” for years. I found a group interested in aquaponics meeting in Austin in a few days and we signed up to join them to learn what had developed in this very interesting subject in the years since we first heard of it.

The Central Texas Aquaponics group– http://www.meetup.com/CentralTexasAquaponics/
We went to the gathering billed as:
Mid-Summer Aquaponics and Meet Lotso’ of New Central Texas Aquaponic Folk
We saw what the organizer, Arturo, had done with his aquaponic systems despite the drought. Here is some pictures of our meeting.

The topic of the session was “hoop houses” an inexpensive structure to build over an aquaponic system to protect it from the extensive heat of the direct Texas sun. Unfortunately we did not have time to ask all the questions we had about aquaponics- but we were able to go back home and get on the internet for more intensive searches for information. We then decided to create a very small aquaponic system with stuff we had on hand to see if we actually understood what was required.

Out came the aquarium we had put into storage when the kids were still  at home. We set it up to be sure it would not leak and we were on our way.

We set up the aquarium just as we would a standard fish aquarium with an under gravel filter.

In the garage we found a plastic storage tub that was not in use at that time. We had to purchase rocks and a few PVC fittings and here is how we began building our mini-aquaponic system.

I found a few plants in the garden that had survived the intense heat and drought. They needed care but I hope they will like the new growing environment when it is established.

Plumbing is an ongoing experiment as we are learning as we go. This connection takes the water from the top planting bed to—-

deposit clean water into the aquarium through gravity feed.

This is our hope: The water from the lower part of the aquarium is pumped up into the gravel growing bed and the fish waste is converted into plant food, the plants release oxygen into the water and it is returned to the aquarium. This is a constant flow system.

I found a “24 Hour Multi Pin Dual Outlet Grow Timer” on the internet. It will allow us to experiment with a “Flood and Drain” system which is recommended as better on some aquaponic web sites. SO…..HERE WE GROW AGAIN! We hope this will carry us through the drought and provide us with a new way to grow our herbs and vegetables efficiently.

I found a real problem today while adding a new post. I have been moderating comments from the beginning of using wordpress. I never noticed anything odd before just now. On every post I added I have the same 3 comments listed in “RECENT COMMENTS” on every post.

how to get him back…..

free samples by mail for babies……………..

Making money fast on……………

These comments have never appeared on the comments I am suppose to moderate. there is no indiction how to get rid of these offensive comments on any support page from wordpress. I did not know before  that I could not contact anyone if I had a problem with wordpress. Does anyone have suggestions on where these comments came from and how to get rid of them?

Up or Down?Stimulants and sedatives are part of any study of herbs as they have been used by people in all parts of the world. The herbs that created these effects could be powerful and in many cases were used in religious rites. Stimulants provided heightened sensations and an early Chinese medical texts mentioned that tea, a mild stimulant, “quenches thirst” and “lessens the desire to sleep.” On the other hand, coffee may be one of the most widely used and abused stimulant in the modern world. The stimulating effect of caffeine has a long history in Ethiopia, the Near and Middle East and has spread widely into Europe and the Americas. These stimulants and sedatives were embraced without understanding of their potential dangers.

Caffeine is used in stronger concentrations in a wide variety of products today. Tea, chocolate, cola drinks and over the counter drugs. In addition to stimulating properties caffeine has many other actions on humans.

Why is caffeine added to so many products? Because in addition being a stimulant, caffeine counters the soporific effects of the active compounds in decongestants. Caffeine enhances the painkiller action of analgesics (but it is unknown how this works.) In diet aides caffeine diminishes appetite. Panati, Charles. Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. New York: Harper & Row. 1987.

Amphetamines are fast-acting and powerful stimulants commonly known as “speed” or “uppers”. They are designed to resemble the chemical structure of adrenaline. They give an adrenaline rush and a degree of euphoria, stimulating the ability to remain awake for long periods of time. They suppress the appetite.

The desirable effects of stimulants can be dangerous in large quantities and doctors recommend people with high blood pressure avoid coffee. By the 1960s amphetamines were identified as having addictive risks and that the overuse of them could produce classic paranoid schizophrenic-like behaviors. Today amphetamines are either prescription drugs or illegal. The over use of these products will continue as they are multimillion-dollar pharmaceutical products.

Not everyone wants to be stimulated. In our fast moving and demanding life styles, many yearn for just to opposite of stimulants. They seek to calm anxiety, cure insomnia and feel a placid euphoria. Barbiturates were the answer to the prayers of these harassed individuals.

It was believed that barbiturates were safe, effective and not addictive. The reduced aggressive tendencies, were anti-anxiety agents, muscle relaxants, aided in sleeping and were widely prescribed. These drugs were very useful sedatives and painkillers. New sedatives, Librium and Valium were prescribed in record quantities and today Valium is considered on of the twenty most abused drugs in America, surpassing both heroin and cocaine.

We can see that beneficial drugs are more often overuses and abused. Even aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid, a man-made variation of the bark of the willow tree. Willow bark was used in the ancient world as a pain killer and anti-inflammatory drug. Man-made aspirin is the most widely used for pain and inflammation in the world today. Yet we should be aware of the dangers of overuse and abuse. A case in point:

I walked into the elevator and just before pressing a button, I saw a fellow worker running to catch the door. I pressed the “door open” button and waited for him. He breathlessly leaned against the wall to catch his breath. “Up or down, Barney?,” I asked. He looked at me pale, dazed and said, “It doesn’t matter”. With my finger over the buttons, I paused. This would be laughable if I didn’t remember seeing Barney in the lunchroom earlier. He opened his lunch box and carefully placed several pill containers in a row in front of him and prepared to take a pill from each. I realized he was confused and I believed he was over-medicated. I wondered if he had taken “Uppers AND downers?” What exactly was raging through his system?

I had recently been reading about the use of stimulants and sedatives by people throughout the ages as part of my study of herbs. I knew stimulants and sedatives had powerful effects on people and that pharmaceuticals had concentrated these properties. I fear for all the Barneys of the world who seek ever more powerful stimulants and sedatives, even when they have been warned that abuse and overuse can be deadly.

                                   how to get him back…..

                                      free samples by mail for babies……………..

                                         Making money fast on……………

These comments have never appeared on the comments I am suppose to moderate. there is no indiction how to get rid of these offensive comments on any support page from wordpress. I did not know before today that I could not contact anyone if I had a problem with wordpress.  Does anyone have suggestions on where these comments came from and how to get rid of them?

We went to prepare our garden beds for planting this morning. The ground was so dry that a breeze of wind set up a dust storm around our shovels. The ground was as hard as concrete in some areas. This was not our first indication that we were in a drought.

The weathermen on several stations have been telling us of the dry conditions for some time, warning us that we have had little and no rain in many parts of Texas since last September. We have noticed that many stock tanks for providing water to cattle are way below normal levels.

Cattlemen in many areas of Texas are forced to buy hay and the lucky ones with wells to fill the water tanks may be ok if the drought does not last too long.　

I became aware that I knew little of the history of droughts in Texas and now it was going to affect me in my herb growing plans. I asked myself, “how long will this last?” I began looking for answers on how to cope with this situation.

Dictionaries describe drought as a “protracted lack of rain.”

The Glossary of Meteorology defines droughts as “periods of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged for the lack of water to cause a serious hydrologic imbalance in the affected area.”

I found that droughts can take on a regional context. Residents of arid West Texas may cope for two or three years with little rain before acknowledging that a drought exists. In East Texas, where rainfall is plentiful, a few months of below average precipitation can heighten concerns that a drought may be coming. I am becoming alarmed as I look further into this subject.

One of the most maddening aspects of droughts is the fact that it’s nearly impossible to predict when they will hit in the future and how long they will last. In 1950-56, Texans endured a 7 year uninterrupted drought. City water supples were alarmingly low, cattle and sheep ranchers were desperate as stock tanks receded into dry mud beds, streams barely flowed or completely dried up. Ranchers suffered large losses and crops dried up in the fields.

Now I have to ponder-what can I do about this? Just knowing there is a problem offers options. I can take steps to reduce wasting the water we do have. Adding organic, rich compost allows the soil to hold water. Watering in early morning, using drip irrigation on the gardens and monitoring the time the watering is taking place to reduce any runoff. Mulching the gardens to hold what moisture is provided is a sure way to conserve water.

Plant selection is important. A drought-tolerant landscape can be beautiful, colorful and provide enjoyment in the garden.

I plan to expand my knowledge of water conservation that will include soil management, placement of trees, and choosing the right plant for the right place. I suspect this will require a lot of study.

Another alarming problem with the lack of rain is that forest areas are subject to wildfires. We think temperatures above 95 degrees F + have come early in the year and there is a lot of wind each day. Conditions have helped to cause wildfires in the entire western part of Texas. Wildfires can start from a variety of methods; a lightning strike or careless human use of fire repeatedly destroys homes and acres of forests. We have been getting daily updates on the devastation of these wildfires.

　We are particularly interested in wildfires as we are in an area that burned in 2009. Charred trees are a daily reminder for us in this area of the Lost Pines of Texas.

Most of April it has been searing hot when we go outside. We can only wonder what July will be like. These early high temperatures and lack of rain are only part of the results of drought. Evaporation, transpiration, and runoff all lower the moisture in the soil. A grim picture for sure.

Do not let debris or firebrands to gather near the home.

Primary goal is fuel reduction, so a well-irrigated area should encircle the structure.

Trees should be pruned 6-10 feet from the ground to eliminate a link between the grasses and tree tops.

1/4 inch metal screening will prevent flying embers to enter or exit a chimney.

http://climateprogress.org/2011/04/11/texas-record-drought-climate-change/

By Friday, the Texas Forest Service warned that “critical drought conditions, high temperatures and high winds are combining to create a perfect storm for wildfire.” On Saturday, the Texas Forest Service responded to 16 fires that burned 65,181 acres, and it said in a press release that wildfire weather conditions “could shape up to be among the worst in Texas history”:

http://tamunews.tamu.edu/2011/04/07/texas-drought-has-hit-critical-stage-and-may-worsen/

Bryan/College Station has received 1/3 of its average rainfall since October.

For links to more information about Texas droughts:

http://agnewsarchive.tamu.edu/drought/

for more info on managing gardens during droughts

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/drought/drought.html

Most of Texas is suffering once again from a severe drought!

Here We Grow Again!

You may wonder what we are up to since we have missed several months of blogging. Here is a report.

We have moved the Purple Gate Herb Farm from Caldwell to Smithville, Texas. A mere 50 miles. Yet it has taken months. Bud and I are “Golden Oldies” and decided to take this move slowly and not rush anything. So here we are…………..still moving.

As we began sorting things we were amazed at how much stuff we had accumulated in the 16 years of the Purple Gate Herb Farm in Caldwell.

I grew up in Alaska when it was a territory and we never threw anything away. We kept everything in piles and stores we referred to as “possibles”. These piles of things most people considered junk often solved problems we had in designing or constructing something.

We were moving from 24 acres to 2 acres. We had to come to the difficult conclusion that our “possibles” were impossible to move, and that they were what most people thought they were…..Junk. So we sorted carefully for anything someone else might find useful and donated as much as we could. We loaded the rest in the truck and hauled them to the dump where many people gathered our “possibles” and seemed happy to find such unusual treasure. We felt good that the things were going to be recycled one way or another.

　Then we boxed up what we could not stand to leave and began a slow migration to our new smaller home. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Our approach of taking small steps paid off. As we moved garden fixtures we designed and installed them in their new sites. It took longer to go this slowly but we could feel the progress of our new home and gardens taking shape.

Another time we moved our Ancient Garden statues, benches and pathways.

　As we drove to our new home one evening, we observed three very young and healthy deer in our neighbors yard. Our first inclination was to stop the car and wonder at the beauty of the wild animals. They stopped and looked over their shoulders at us, they seemed to be as interested in us as we were in them. They just looked at us without seeming alarmed.

I had begun planting treasured plants we were moving and they were unprotected. I lay awake nights fearing that my newly established gardens were become salad for the abundant deer and rabbits in the area. I began devising fences.

Here is one that is about 6 feet high with an arch that provides as 4 feet wide “tunnel” for us to walk easily in .We took a 16 foot by 50 inch cattle panel, bent it into an arch and held it in place with metal fence posts.

I know there are many “deer proof” ideas that have been tried, but I never saw this one so we hope it works. It provides us with support for grape vines, roses, climbing floral vines and tomatoes that are planted on the inside part of the arch where the plant is protected from grazing deer and hopefully they will not try to jump over the arch. We hope when the plant are grown they will block view of our protected gardens. That is the idea, I will have to wait to see if it works.

For other deer fencing see: http://yardener.com/YardenersPlantProblemSolver/DealingWithPestAnimals/Deer/StrategyForDealingWithDeer/BarriersForDeer

Now we are planting again. We had quite a few plants in the greenhouse in Caldwell that is the foundation of our new gardens. It is fun designing, installing and searching out plants for our gardens here in Smithville. We have planted roses, flowering vines, tomatoes, and Bud’s favorite, grapes on our new “deer deterrent”, tunnel arbor. We have visions of smelling the antique roses as we graze on three different types of grapes……

Bud and I look at each other and say, “Here We Grow Again!”

Earth laughs in flowers.

It is a real pleasure to take trips to town to take care of business as we are treated to these masses of rich color. A wonderful brightening of our days.

As we travel in Burleson and Brazos counties, the roadsides are full of dew berry blossoms.

We lick our lips in anticipation of the dark berries that will soon appear for us to enjoy in pies, jellies and as delicious snacks. We envision the dew berries festooning shortcakes and topped with mounds of cream. We make mental notes of the location of the best concentrations of flowers for future berry picking excursions.

Medicinal Herbs

 I wish I could read the early herbal medicinal, culinary and domestic knowledge and lore recorded by various cultures through the ages. I wish I could sit at the feet of healers who used the plants in their environments to address the ails that all people suffer. Like all of history we are tempted by fragments which have survived the terrible natural disasters and man led invasions that destroyed so much of hard earned knowledge of men.

 I owe a debt to all the people who have preserved the fragments of manuscripts all over the world. It is a real pleasure to learn from these fragments and to conjure up the visions of those early students of nature. One knows that the early writings embody traces of beliefs and plant lore that suggest traces of ages far older than the manuscript. Plant lore is part of our history and like a detective, I read history for clues to the uses of plants by people for healing. Although the following book is not an herbal or herb related publication, I found some very interesting, informative and fun plant lore in the pages.Look for this book in used bookstores or online. It is fun to read .

Panati, Charles. Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. New York: Harper & Row. 1987.

Virtually all the ways of administering remedies were known by 3500 B.C. by the Sumerians in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. Gargles, inhalations, suppositories, enemas, poultices, snuffs, decoctions, infusions, pills, lotions, ointments, lozenges and plasters were recorded in cuneiform script on clay tablets. One single clay tablet contains names of dozens of drugs to treat ailments that are familiar to us today.

 The Egyptians added to the Ancient Medicine Chest with specific remedies for such complaints as constipation using ground senna pods and castor oil for a laxative, for indigestion a chew of a compound containing peppermint leaves that simulates an antacid of today. Egyptian medicine was highly specialized and so was the hierarchy of medicinal preparations. Equivalents of a head pharmacist supervised the collection of drugs by field workers who gathered the minerals and herbs. Preparers dried and pulverized ingredients to be blended into formulas. There was even a “conservator of drugs” or an overseer of the storehouse for imported and local mineral, herb and animal parts. The ancient Greeks pursued the diagnosis and treatment of the physical causes of disease within the body as well as the supernatural (gods or persons wishing to harm) components of health. The more holistic attitude continued into the modern historical ages.

The first major discoveries in chemistry brought an understanding of how chemicals produce certain effects within the human body. In the early half of the 16th century a pharmacopeia listing hundreds of drugs and medicinal chemicals with explicit directions was published in Germany. Even with this compilation of known chemical reactions, many remedies worked but were not understood. Human bio-chemistry is complex requiring this research to continue now into the 21st century.

Here is a small sample of interest to my search for useful herbs:

 Menthol was made into a sore-muscle balm in 1898. This balm was called Ben-Gay and combined menthol’s heat producing effects with an analgesic pain reliever, salicylate of methyl in a base of lanolin. This pain reliever was advertised as a remedy for gout, rheumatoid arthritis and neuralgia. It was also reported to clear sinuses during a head cold.

Skin Creams, Oils and Moisturizers Many oils used to trap water in the skin developed in the Middle East in response to the hot, dry, desert climate. Skin softening oils, scented with frankincense, myrrh, thyme, marjoram and other essences of fruits and nuts were used as moisturizers thousands of years before the development of soap. These oils cleaned the body of dirt in the same way cold cream is used to remove makeup today. 3000 year old Egyptian clay tablets reveal special formulations for blemishes, dryness, wrinkles or aging. Some of the concoctions include herbs as well as animal parts. For blemishes, a face mask of bullock’s bile, whipped ostrich eggs, olive oil, flour, sea salt, plant resin and fresh milk were applied. Aging might be combated with a facial paste of milk, incense, wax, olive oil, gazelle or crocodile dung, and ground juniper leaves. Some ideas about aging reappear through out the ages. Genitalia of young animals were believed to retard aging and restore sexual vigor in the ancient world. Calf phallus and vulva were dried and ground into a paste to be applied to the skin or ingested. Many modern people put faith in fetal lamb cell injections or infant stem cell research to accomplish the same anti-aging results.

Skin creams, oils and moisturizers found in many ancient cosmetic formulas have come to us down through the ages basically with only slight variations. As can be seen by these examples we all should be open to finding unexpected information in all of our reading. Plants are mentioned often as part of the science and lore of healing.