fall is the time

FALL IS THE TIME
my wife she came home one day from a party
they want you to look at their garden
it wont grow anything

so my mind gets agoing
why wont someones garden grow stuff
so
around here its dry theres no soil
dig down a few inches and its rocky
well the dirt does grow stuff here
its rocks
theres lots of trees

so
i told her its either

not enough light
not enough good soil
not enough water

occasionally someone has dumped poison on a bed
to kill weeds and it wont let anything grow

so i agreed to do a garden consult

so this is what i saw as i walked up to the garden
with a shovel in hand

light
it sits amongst trees so that it gets morning sun
then stays in the sun until around 300pm
in the winter the pecan trees on the south side
will lose its leaves so even more winter sun will hit the garden

conclusion
sunlight is not an issue
it seems to be just right so it will avoid that hot late afternoon
plant killing sun in the summer

soil
i dug down at about 4 inches it gets hard to dig further
without a lot of effort
the soil is bone dry
the soil the top 2 inches has some character to it
the rest seems devoid of plant debris and thickness
it seems to be dead soil

conclusion
it needs a lot of plant material leaves mulch compost
it needs to be alive with good bacteria and fungi
worms
more nutrition is needed to feed the microorganisms
and the plants
conclusion
they need more soil depth and more soil nutrition
and organic material in the soil

water
its bone dry
nothing will survive in bone dry soil
even when being rested it needs some water
like us garden soil has to have water

so here are my recommendations

the light to the garden bed is fine
dont do anything about that

the soil depth needs to be deeper
i suggest they do at least 2 layers of raised beds with
those concrete blocks
this will give them at least 18 inches of soil to work with
a third layer would be even better
when my wife she did this at her school garden
it made a huge difference in how well the garden did
but
i recommend that they start with two layers
then add another one in the future if its needed
you can also sit on the side of the garden
and
use those little block spaces to plant stuff

yes its safe in an organic garden to use concrete blocks

now for the soil
what i recommend is that they go buy a good garden soil
instead of making their own soil like ive done recently

its got all the goodies in it thats needed
just dump and plant is all they need to do
then they can keep it improved after each planting
by adding compost and much later working it into the soil
continually adding plant materials to the soil


now where they live i recommend they either get
the hill country garden soil from lady bug in bags
or
buy a bulk order of good garden soil from the nearest
supplier which for them is gardenville
thats malcolm becks old company
hes the god of organic gardening in texas

remember you put a $5 plant in a $50 hole

after the soil is added
buy the best compost they have and put down 3-4 inches
working it into the soil
then
add the recommended amount of a good organic fertilizer

i personally use lady bug brands 8-2-4
or medinas growin green or gardenvilles brand
then

add a dusting of cottonseed meal
i usually use lady bug brand
this adds a nitrogen fertilizer that is quickly taken up by
the new plants while the organic fertilizer is slowly released
then

add a recommended amount of liquid molasses over the
whole bed
this provides an energy source for all the living organisms
in the soil
a requirement for good crop production
note this is whats missing from non organic gardening
is a good alive soil

then
cover this all with a good mulch like pine straw or leaves
to hold in moisture until planting time

keep the garden watered well until planting time

when its time to plant
just rake back the mulch and plant


when you plant transplants
add a recommended dose of earthworm castings


water them in with seaweed
they will get a jump start
the seaweed stimulates root production

when seeds are planted they need to be watered daily
sometimes twice a day if the weather is hot and dry

i know this seems like a lot of stuff to buy to add to the
new soil
but this stuff will last several seasons
one good crop of say tomatoes will pay for all this
just price an organic tomato

then all you have to do is water the garden regularly
and
enjoy the best time to garden in central texas
the fall and winter

here is what i plant in the fall/winter
lettuce
spinach
carrots
beets
cabbage
broccoli
asian greens
arugula
swiss chard
kale
garlic
sweet peas
cilantro
strawberries
onions and potatoes in late january

after the season is over
pull the old crops
add compost fertilizer cottonseed meal molasses
cover with much
until the next planting occurs
it is good if all this sits for a few weeks before planting
eg
my fall garden bed has been done for several weeks
just sitting there letting all that stuff brew its brew

so
hopefully this togd consult
will result in a bountiful harvest

if you are going to garden around here
this is the time of year to do it

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-do for others

DEAR MS B-DO FOR OTHERS


ms b theres a verse called do unto others as they do unto you
i ms b dont like that one

i would change it to
do for others as you would like them to do for you

all religions no matter which would you chose
seem to have all these sayings
im sure they all have some version of the
do for others

now ms b
this lady contacted me yesterday
about doing an interview about all my volunteer activities
for an article in their paper
they plan a monthly article on different people each month

now ms b
im not some super volunteer person
there are those who do more much more than i do

what i did ms b
was took those things i have a passion about
or
wanted to be involved in
narrowed it down to just a few
then
went for it
volunteering as much as i have time to do

so
i do habitat for humanity for williamson county
i plan the landscapes and also help with the builds when
im not working on the yard
i guess president carters  involvement with habitat for humanity
sparked my interest
he is a definite do for others type of guy
i want to be like him

when he dies we will talk alot about him and his doing for others
i want people to talk like that about me when my days are done
he did for others
yea
put that on my tombstone will you
or
he made a difference
i like that one

those homeowners shed lots of tears of joy when they get their houses
they earn it they deserve it they give back they appreciate it

then
i do meals on wheels
running a route near where we leave
maybe one day you can ride with me
those old folks love to see kids
heck we would probably be the only folks they see that day
plus
the food is fresh cooked and quite nutritious

thats another do for others they i get a lot from doing
an inside me payback
ms b
it just feels good inside real deep it is

then
i like to help others do organic gardening
just this week i went to someones house to help them figure
out why their garden wouldnt grow
more on that tomorrow
quickly i figured it out
they were most appreciative
all that knowledge i gained over the years gardening
i let them have the part they needed in just a few minutes

they will reap the rewards for months to come
then
i am helping some with a school garden
giving some peripheral advice
knowing how much those kiddos love to dig in the dirt

ms b
dont worry
ill do for you letting you get your little digits all dirty in my garden
heck you can eat all the dirt you want
i wont tell

then
i guess the thing i get the best high from
the best satisfaction from
is
talking about alzheimers
helping raising funds

heck ms b
i figured this weekend that of the walks we are involved in
this year around here for alzheimers
we as a group will raise over a half a million dollars
thats a lot of research and educational services that will be funded
it is all worth it all those hours and effort

then ms b
i guess the part i like the best of my alzheimers involvement
is when i stand up and do my talks
tell my story
answer the audiences questions
they cry i  cry we all cry
but
at the end of  the day
i feel good when i do this
they feel good that they got some answers

ms b
i hope when you can read and understand this
that
we have found an answer for this dreadful disease

so ms b
i would like to encourage you to do for others
it would make you a much better person
start young and do it all your life

yes
thats my new motto my new mantra
for others to do

do for others as you would like them to do for you

the organicgreen doctor

momentum

MOMENTUM
i can feel it building
this momentum to find a cure and treatment
im bleeding purple this morning when i cut myself

i felt it last week when i did my presentation on
alzheimers to a large crowd
after talking for 30 minutes
i let them ask me questions that they wanted answered
my oh my
they asked a ton of questions
in fact i told them
ill stay here until they run us out
or
until there are no more questions asked

i noticed that people dont get their answers from
their medical providers
who are either too busy
or
may not know themselves

many of the questions should have been answered
by the providers

why dont they or why dont we provide those answers

in reviewing comments from the attendees
they felt like they got some needed answers that day

here is a newspaper article on the presentation

then this weekend
we did our first of our walk to end alzheimers in williamson county
quite a success it was

these walks mean a lot to people who have had family
with the disease
i always take a pause
thinking of
my mother my dad my younger brother and older brother
all affected by this disease
as i walk i usually will strike up a conversation with other walkers
sometimes ending in teary eyes as they remember their
loved ones

this walk just seems to feel good
its the fifth time we have done this walk
its getting bigger and bigger each year

this year there were 650+ walkers
raising over $65000 for alzheimers research and education
almost all this money goes to that cause

there is a lot of youth at this walk
which we need
an influx of youth
they are the silents ones in the alzheimers battle
they lose their parents grandparents aunts and uncles
to this terrible disease
you know it must bother them a lot
many dont understand why

there seemed to be a lot of energy at this walk
that makes that momentum move forward
on to the next one
on to a cure

a weekend well spent

now onto our next two walks


 october 10   travis county in austin 
team austin regional clinic

october 17   little rock
team #joe nash

join us

the purple organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-sunshine disease

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-SUNSHINE DISEASE
thats what i call it
the sunshine disease
or
the lack of sunshine disease

i have a relative that doesnt get outside much
he gets very little sunshine
you can tell when you see him
as he is definitely a caucasian
a lily white one

what that means is that he doesnt get enough sunshine
hitting his skin
to covert the vitamin d to a form that can be used in
the body
to make stronger bones
and
now it appears that it helps memory

dental films showed he already had thinning of the jawbone
the dentist recommended he get on vitamin d
which he has now been on for awhile

several month ago i read the article on taking certain vitamins
and supplements to slow down cognitive decline
many based on labs done
eg one was vitamin d3
if it was less than 50 ng/ml
supplemental vitamin d was recommended

now you can also get it in milk products and other foods
but the sunshine helps a lot

now i really wasnt worried about the sunshine deal
since i was outside working in the sun almost every day
i figured i was ok

now i dont drink milk but do eat cheese twice a day

so after i read the article
i got all the labs done that were suggested
now many of them i had already had them done
as part of my initial evaluation

to my surprise my levels were low as well as my vitamin b levels

i think i may have an absorption problem from my chronic
reflux and use of omeprazole for years
cant live without that though


so i started vitamin d supplementation on a daily basis
as have all my siblings after checking their levels and with
consulting their doctors

then
last week i read this article about how vitamin d even
slightly low ones in older folks
is associated with some memory decline
some memory loss

the study found those folks had a loss of episodic memory
and executive function

now they plan a longer study
giving the folks with the low vitamin d levels supplementation
long term to see if there will be an improvement in their memory

i like others dont want to wait for those studies results

suggestion
get your vitamin d3 level checked
if its less than 50 ng/ml begin vitamin d supplements
with the permission of your medical provider
as
too much vitamin d can be bad for you also

my level is 40ng/ml  so i take vitamin d 1000 iu a day
soon to check my level to make sure im getting a enough
and not getting too much

my memory and my bones will both benefit from this


we are of the top fundraisers this year at the walk
thanks to all that have helped us out this year
each of you have contributed to finding a cure
and
to educating others about this terrible devastating disease

if you want to see how devastating this disease can be
to a young family read this blog today

confessions of an alzheimers wife

williamson county walk to end alzheimers

september 26 in georgetown
team organicgreendoctor
donate and or join our team

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-appreciated

COUNTRY N NEWS-APPRECIATED

over the years i have gotten these
certificates or trophies or letters
thanking me for supporting a cause or charity
heck
i even got a high school team sport jacket
with my name emblazoned on it
for being the team doctor for the school
thats been years ago
still have it

then this last week i got this one
for volunteering for meals on wheels
i run a route every friday
i leave the house at 9am and get home around 1230pm

an aside- they need volunteer drivers bad for the
williamson county routes run out of leander
contact denise at this link for the leander site

my mother received meals similar to this
so
i realized then how important that meal was to her
and
how important these meals are to the ones i deliver too
wonder what someone would eat each day without it
for many i am the only person they see or talk to that day

so im proud of each of these certificates i get
i keep them all

i tell people especially parents
everyone should do volunteer work
for those more needy than we are
at school at church at work at nursing homes
at the various charities
every child over a certain age should be required
to do so many hours each year of volunteer work
in order to graduate

they will learn to help others
and
feel good about themselves while volunteering

a win win for all involved

eg
yesterday i volunteered at habitat for humanity
working with this group of kids from a local high school
we cleared part of the lot to prepare it for the landscaping
to be done soon

these kids learned a skill many havent ever done
use a rake a hoe a shovel a pitchfork a wheel barrow
meeting the home owner
eating lunch with her
seeing how much all this means to her
and
at the end of the day
hoping they feel a sense of accomplishment for what
they did yesterday

the work they did will save us from having to hire someone to
move all that around with machinery
money that now can be spent on providing grass sod and plants
for her yard

yes
i felt good
they felt good
the owner really felt good

we all need to do this
volunteer
it makes you a better person

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-sleep

DEAR MS B-SLEEP

you may not notice this yet
but
when you go down for a nap after lunch
so do i

now you do it cause your full and you are
afastagrowing
to fast i might add
you need your growth rest
growing can tire you out

now i take a medicine called aricept (donepezil)
well one day youll understand why
when you ask why im not around for your
high school graduation

this stuff is a sleep disturber
it lets me only get a few hours sleep a night
usually 5 hours
so
i compensate with that afternoon nap
without it im afraid i wouldnt function well

now ms b ive tried going without it
and
i gain my lost sleep hours back
i would just stay off it
but
im not sure what may happen if i did

i might not know who you are
i might be further along in this process im
undergoing
further than i realize

so i dont wont to take that chance
of stopping the aricept so i can get more sleep

now this stuff does make for some vivid dreams
sometimes
almost real when i wake up

usually they are not disturbing
but
occasionally they are though

now we have enjoyed facetiming with you
you can see your little eyes focus on us
as we talk
yes you seem to like my donad duck voice
and
the whistling i do
something i learned in caring for babies during
my career

now that facetiming with you
and
that ad on tv of those zombies deciding to run after
that guy

well it all came together in a dream
those zombies in that ad
they were after me
running me down they were

i fell onto the floor
huddled down
closed my eyes

then ms b
it got quiet
guess i made them go away
i slowly opened my eyes
there you were ms b
with those eyes and that smile
you were sitting up
leaned forward
you looked just like you did on facetime
you leaned in real close
and
gave me this wet slobbering kiss on my cheeks

ms b i instantly woke up
ms b
believe it or not
but my cheek was soaking wet
and
i didnt wipe it off

thanks

maybe ill just stay on that stuff

the organicgreen doctor

my story

MY STORY
here is a link to information on the senior expo where
i will be doing a presentation on alzheimers disease today
at the bottom of the article is a few paragraphs
about my presentation

senior expo article

below are the slides from the talk
for those not attending
and
for those who did attend

slide one

slide two

slide three

slide four

slide five

slide six

slide seven

slide eight

slide nine

slide ten

slide 1 is a normal vs an alzheimers brain
total destruction has occurred
the theory is it starts with the bad beta amyloid accumulating then the
tau protein unravels resulting in brain cell death
it all starts in the underneath portion of the brain called the hippocampus
then spreads over the brain
what area of the brain thats affected determines what you see in
your loved ones

slide 2 is information on aricept (donepezil)

slide 3 is a list of tests that someone should have if they have memory loss
the ? ones are now available to private practice but are not paid for by
insurance
the last one the alzheimers blood test should be commercially available soon
its 90% accurate

slide 4 is the labs that are generally done
some providers add the homocysteine level since it may be associated
with an increased risk for alzheimers stroke and heart disease
i would add a ua in the elderly

slide 5 is an mri scan
this one shows a stroke

slide 6 is the new amyvid pet scan that highlights the beta amyloid
that accumulates in the brain
if you have alzheimers this test will be positive

slide 7 is the alzheimers graph that shows when things happen
as alzheimers develops
note that the bad beta amyloid and tau accumulates years before
symptoms develop

slide 8 is a list of things to do to slow down the disease
it is especially important to start as young as possible

slide 9 is a list of treatment research studies ongoing now
hopefully the treatments will be available in 5 years+

slide 10 is a reference list
the clinical best practices is a pdf file from the texas health department
on the recommended evaluation and treatment of memory loss

i look forward to the presentation today
hoping to give answers to those who cant get their questions answered
elsewhere

williamson county walk to end alzheimers

september 26 in georgetown
team organicgreendoctor
donate and or join our team

the organicgreen doctor

heard it was right

HEARD IT WAS RIGHT
this was a long week for us at the country n
well at least for me
after a tiring last weekend trip to vegas to celebrate
my energizing mother in laws 80th birthday
she wore us all out
i came down with what i call the limo flu
since
half of us in the limo got sick with
several days of fever headache sinus pain congestion
sorethroat cough a lingering cough
it felt like the flu is the best way i can describe it
so
i laid around this weekend in a recovery mode
well i did do some habitat landscape work
but mostly slugged out

not a good weekend for this razorback horn cowboy fan
the hogs seem to be going backwards
the horns lost in a heart breaking fashion
the cowboys won but looked crappy
lost romo for several weeks
you know the eagles just looked real bad
didnt they

none of this really made me feel any better


back last spring and last year and this summer
and this early preseason
heck even longer that that
i said to my wife she

you know i watched this kid play in two state championships
texas ones
he and his team won it all in his junior and senior year
he is the real thing
he has it
his name is
jerrod heard

now there arent many it athletes
lebron
michael
serena
manziel in college
mariotta

this kid i told her has it
and
thank goodness he is going to the university of texas
thats whats missing from their roster
heck
they are letting all kind of quarterbacks go to other schools
luck
rg3
the ohio state qb
are just a few that have been missed
now
the horns would be getting the best in the state

however
first year he sat on the bench
the second year he didnt start
then
finally he was let loose
really let loose this weekend
setting a record for the most offense ever at texas
a real exciting
yes more than vince young was
player
he seems to have it
on and off the field i must say

i see a bright future for him in college and beyond

no one had to tell me he was the one
i didnt have to heard it from anyone
i knew he was it four years ago

why did mack then charlie just contact me
for advice

after all it seems i was right
that heard was the right one

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-grapes for wrath

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-GRAPES FOR WRATH

for those of us who have seen alzheimers disease
up close and personal
we know what the wrath of alzheimers disease is like
weve lived it

so now if you drink a 1,000 bottles of red wine a day
you can get enough of a chemical called
reservatrol
to slow down the cognitive decline from alzheimers disease
dying of course not from alzheimers
but from alcohol poisoning along the way

so what the researchers did
is isolated resveratrol so it could be taken in a capsule form
eg

here is a bottle of the stuff

here is some of the pills that have 500 mg in them
horse pills are what they are

it seems that in this small study of slightly more than 100
people with mild to moderate alzheimers
excuse me
when will they learn
doing studies on folks who already have it
may not work as well
since the disease is so well established by the time you are
that far along

why not treat folks who are programmed to get the disease
to see if it can be slowed down or prevented
seems easy to me

so off my soap box
they found that these folks had an improvement in their
activities of daily living
like eating communicating walking around getting dressed
take care of their daily needs
and
that their was no increase in beta amyloid in the brain
and
the brain shrunk in those on the reservatrol

why
the thinking is that the inflammation in the brain
was decreased significantly by the reservatrol
thus the smaller brain volume

the same thing happened in patients given the new
antiamyloid alzheimers vaccines

so the brain got better
the patients got better

a+b=c

it seems reservatrol turns on a protein called sirtuians
which changes the ratio of the amyloid proteins in the brain
a 2/3 calorie restriction diet does the same thing
well thats not going to work
is it
in the us

several months ago when i read dr bredesens article on ways
to slow cognitive decline
one of the supplements he recommended for the patients
in the study was
reservatrol
ive been on it since i read the article

ive noticed my brain doesnt seem quite so tight up in my skull
no i made that up

now the researchers are looking to do a larger phase 3 study on
hundreds of patients to see if this really works

as i raise my hand
excuse me sir researcher
could you please do it on those destined to get alzheimers but
who have no symptoms
or
folks like me who are really early in the disease process
it seems to me that we would be helped the most by all of this

so
i plan to bump up my dose of reservatrol to that used in the study
to do my study of one person

of course ill keep drinking my glass of red wine each night
it relaxes me
relieves stress
another potential cause of cognitive decline
two birds with one stone



here are the walk to end alzheimers we are participating in
click the links to donate and or join our team
or
one in a walk to end alzheimers in your area

september 26   williamson county in georgetown
team organicgreendoctor

october 10   travis county in austin 
team austin regional clinic

october 17   little rock
team #joe nash

october 31   hays county in san marcos
team organicgreendoctor

november 7   bell county in temple
team organicgreendoctor
i will be the honorary chair for this event

future speaking engagement
senior expo belton texas
september 22 at 1030am
i will be speaking and answering questions on alzheimers

we need your help
we are close to a treatment and cure
its in your hands

the organicgreen doctor