Friday, December 23, 2022
organicgreendoctor: 78th week and 12th anniversary
78th week and 12th anniversary
78TH WEEK AND 12TH ANNIVERSARY
78TH WEEK
that picture above is of me standing in front of the building 300 at ucla last tuesday right before i entered the building for my 6 hours of testing
i had just returned from a short walk after arriving since i had been sitting in a car for over 2 hours
this is the 3rd of these all day testings i have done in the biogen aduhelm embark clinical trial at ucla
this was week 78 of the study
here was my schedule
neurology exam by neurologist
moca or montreal cognitive assessment memory test
mmse or mini mental state exam
adas cog 13 or alzheimers disease assessment scale cognitive memory test
these three are frequently used to assess memory in clinical trials
most neurologists use one of these to assess and follow memory patients
i usually get a moca memory test each year when i see my private neurologist in santa barbaa
my scores were in the normal range where they have been the last few years
they were not normal on my initial visit 12 years ago and for the next few years
then they converted to the normal range
i had 6 other memory evaluations required by the study that morning also
when i finished i felt like i had just taken a 5 hour final exam
then
i had an mri of the brain to make sure i have not had aria or microbleeds in the brain
my umpteenth one i have had
they have always been normal
ill get a report on this one soon
i expect it to be normal
i get to repeat all this again this summer
i get my next infusion of aduhelm in two weeks
i read this week that aduhelms cousin lecanemab when given to over 75 years olders that it showed a 40% improvement in cognitive decline
i hope that translates to aduhelm when they report out the embark aduhelm study in a couple of years
12TH ANNIVERSARY
yesterday was the 12th anniversary of my last day thanks blog and last day to work
the next day i saw my neurologist who diagnosed me with mild cognitive impairment that has now been shown to be due to alzheimers disease
i had positive amyloid and tau levels in my spinal fluid
i had a positive amyloid pet scan
i was placed on aricept or donepezil which i have taken for 12 years
it slows down symptoms but doesnt affect the disease
i attribute starting this early as one of the reasons i am doing well today
i also hope that the aduhelm infusions are contributing to my doing well
i am sure healthy living also has helped a lot
i do know that the slide down that slippery slope of memory decline can happen at anytime
i went back this morning and read my anniversary blogs i write about this time each year
i couldnt make myself read the one i wrote in 2010 called last day thanks
i linked it here and above if you want to read it
i always tear up when i read it
one thing i did when i had to retire was i got busy and stayed busy
now i blog each morning usually 5 days a week taking off sometimes as it seems to refresh me
i have become more involved in the community garden than i was before the pandemic
i had moved volunteer hours during the pandemic to the garden since i felt much safer in the garden
i have kept those volunteer hours in the garden since i enjoy it a lot
i still do alzheimers panels when asked
that slowed down with the pandemic
i did some on zoom panels
i do more grandparenting now that takes up more of my time
i am happy with my present schedule
i look back at where i was 12 years ago without much hope of getting better
i really expected to be in a memory center by now
but
i am not
i feel lucky for having to be able to get in the aduhelm treatment study as it may help some to slow this all down
i plan to continue it or one of the other ones about to be approved into the future
we havent done any traveling since the pandemic but hope to in 2023
i still do all our financial planning and finances
i do all our taxes
i do the grocery list each week and do most of the shopping
i also do part of the meal planning and cooking
i do all the planning of what to plant and when in our community garden
my overall health seems to be good for my age
i can do all my garden work and can keep up with the college folks who volunteer in our garden
i dont really notice anything with my memory except for what may be normal for my age
finding some words remembering some names etc
this correlates with my normal memory tests from this week
i hope that on my 13th anniversary i am where i am now
ill take that every year from now on
the organicgreen doctor
Monday, December 19, 2022
organicgreendoctor: covid 19-will the rise in cases in china cause a w...
covid 19-will the rise in cases in china cause a wave to hit us
COVID 19-WILL THE RISE IN CASES IN CHINA CAUSE A WAVE TO HIT US
the consensus of scientists is that the covid virus probably started in a wet animal market in wuhan china
from there it spread everywhere
thanks to sociopolitical reasons we lost over 1 million folks to covid in the us
most didnt have to die
but thanks to a large percentage of folks getting vaxxinated and many getting fully boosted and the fact that natural immunity has occurred here in the us so that most of us have some protection against covid
so when it hits us we have enough immunity from vaxxination and or infection to keep us from dying or being hospitalized
only the most vulnerable are at risk now
thats older folks and folks with immunosuppression
we recently lost a friend in his 50s to the complications of covid
so folks are still dying
around 300+- a day are dying in the us
in china there isnt much immunity in the population against covid
the omicron variants are infecting them now
china is about to lift its zero covid policy
this will make covid explode there
they are expecting hundreds of millions of cases
all those new cases may lead to new variants
their approach has failed
over 90% have had their first shots but few are boosted
their vaxxines arent as effective as ours
some given werent even effective at all
because of their strict covid restriction covid really hasnt infected the population yet
however
now the covid will hit them real hard
there are already reports of funeral homes and crematories being super busy
its expected the health care system there will be totally overwhelmed
there are expected to be a lot of older folks to die there
the estimated deaths will be between 1 million to 2 million
this will affect all of chinas economy
which will affect us also
then the question is
how much of that covid will find itself over here to the us
how much of a surge will those cases cause here in the us
last time in 2020 we didnt fare so well
now its predicted we will
thanks to
our natural immunity
our high immunization rate
the use of masks by some folks
the avoidance of inside venues by some folks
the use of paxlovid in at risk patients
heres hoping this will stem the tide that will hit us from that covid wave from china
so
what to do in the us
nothing new
get vaxxed and get the bivalent covid boosters
wear a mask in high risk situations
avoid large indoor gatherings
wash your hands
also remember these protect you against the flu and rsv and those other nasty reparatory illness
be careful
hopefully it wont be a tsunami tidal wave
the organicgreen doctor
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Friday, December 16, 2022
organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-aricept or donepezil vs lecanemab
alzheimers news-aricept or donepezil vs lecanemab
ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ARICEPT OR DONEPEZIL VS LECANEMAB
i have been on aricept or donepezil for 12 years
aricept or donepezil blocks an enzyme so acetylcholine will accumulate in brain nerve endings so they will work better
this makes damaged brain nerve cells work longer
thus the memory loss is slowed but not the disease
i have had 24 of these
my drug aduhelm is made by biogen and eisai
it is a monoclonal antibody that binds to and removes amyloid from the brain
amyloid accumulates in alzheimers disease
lecanemab is a monoclonal antibody that is made by biogen and eisai
it is a monoclonal antibody that works similar to aduhelm
aduhelm may reduce memory decline by 22%
the results of my study will be out in about 2 years
it will confirm if this is true
lecanemab reduces memory decline by 27%
aduhelm is approved for use by the fda but medicare and insurances wont pay for it
its due to the way it was rushed through the system to get it approved
the research had not been all finalized but should be in 2 years
it wasnt handled right
few doctors are ordering its use
lecanemab is doing it right
note the same folks made it and are promoting it
this time they are doing things right
they both have the side effects of aria or microbleeds
aduhelm has a higher incidence than lecanemab
most of us with this diagnosis dont worry about these side effects
what would you do if you had terminal cancer and got a chance to take a drug that might slow it down to give you more time with your loved ones
i like many alzheimers patients accept these risks
my guess is lecanemab will be approved and will be the one thats used instead of aduhelm
dr daniel gibbs writes a blog called a tatoo on my brain
this week he wrote about a friend who writes an alzheimers blog
his friend is a pediatric oncologist and is a caregiver for his wife with alzheimers
his friend wrote this blog linked here about asking was aricept as good as lecanemab for slowing down symptoms
probably i said to myself
then
i said to myself
what if you took both of them together
would the memory decline be slowed even more
man i sure hope so
ive been on aricept or donepezil for 12 years
ive been on aduhelm for 2 years and will be on it for another 2 years
there are a lot of people in these studies using either aduhelm or lecanemab who are also on aricept or donepezil
it would be interesting to compare them to those folks who werent on aricept but were on lecanemab and those who are on placebo and on aricept or on nothing
that might answer the question
this is a graph i posted on this blog i wrote recently
i wrote i was glad i started aricept or donepezil 12 years ago
the top line is folks on aricept
the bottom line is folks not on aricept
their mmse memory tests were done over a 12 year time period
those on aricept had much better memory tests than those not on aricept
those on aricept also lived longer also
i
this graph from this article linked here is graph of memory tests done on patients on lecanemab vs patients not on lecanemab ie placebo
if you look at the 2 graphs the aricept one and the lecanemab one they look similar
now
i suggest
that they do one where they are on both meds and lets see what it would look like
they have the data theyve collected already
my thoughts
it probably helps to me on both
so
im glad im on both ie aricept or donepezil and aduhelm
this may be the new treatment that newly diagnosed alzheimers patients who have not progressed too far will be offered
if it was me i would do it
wait i am doing it already
the organicgreen doctor
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Thursday, December 15, 2022
organicgreendoctor: garden news-save those leaves
garden news-save those leaves
GARDEN NEWS-SAVE THOSE LEAVES
this is a picture of my old farm trunk full of bags of leaves from the country n
we called her old blackie
she was all beat up and scarred but she ran good
she is still alive
we gave her to a friend who uses her to haul hay etc on her property
she old blackie is now 23 years old
a quick story on how i ended up with her
i wanted a truck knowing we were moving to the country n
a friends teenage son owned her but upgraded to a new truck
they traded it in to a dealership in dallas for a new vehicle
i knew they were going to get rid of her
i called and said i would like to buy her
knowing it was low mileage and in good condition
sorry he said
we traded it in
i called the dealership
yep we got it
i said i want it
im jumping on a plane to today to buy it
i flew up caught a cab went to the dealership bought it
drove it home that afternoon
now
blackie is part of the country n lore
later in life my dad use to collect leaves from neighbors and cover his garden with them
then till them under to enrich the soil
we also when we lived in town would rake up our leaves and burn them
now something not allowed
thank goodness
each fall at the country n i would collect leaves from friends former patients and anyone who would let me have their leaves as long as they didnt use bad chemicals on their yards
i would go pick them up
each year i would accumulate around 100+ large bags of leaves
yes i would even roam neighborhoods on trash day and take the bags of leaves on the curb
my wife she had folks giving her leaves from work
she also would grab leaves she saw parked on the curb
a sort of leaf curb alert
once a former patient messaged me and said theres an empty lot near us with about a hundred bags of leaves
i got everyone of them
we used the leaves as mulch around our trees and shrubs
most though were dumped in our chicken run and in our larger coup area
all 100+ of them
over time the chickens would shred those leaves into a fine material
adding their chicken poop to help break down the leaves even more
what was left was a rich rich compost
i used it in my garden and around my fruit trees and around my shrubs
i hardly ever bought compost
i also used the leaves to mulch heavily in the walkways in my garden and to mulch my veggies to hold in moisture and to add insulation in the winter
if we got too many leaves which usually happened i stored them in a big ole pile behind the chicken coop
i usually harvested the compost twice a year from the chicken run and coop
usually right before it was time to prep my garden beds
i got 2-3 truck loads of finished compost each year from all those leaves
there is a rule
dont let leaves leave your property
unless you give them away to someone like me
that should be true for all your compostable food waste
we fed ours to our chickens which pooped a lot of it out to mix with the shredded leaves to make our compost
here in santa barbara i take our food wastes and feed it to the chickens or put it into my compost buckets buried in my garden
now you can leave the leaves in a big ole pile in a corner of your yard and over time they will break down
albeit slowly
here in santa barbara i dont have a lot of access to leaves
we do have two gardeners who bring their leaves to our garden
we layer them into our compost
ill think i start dumping them in our chicken run like we did at the country n
we do have a couple of live oaks in our community garden but we just let the leaves fall to the ground and stay there
they are located in our compost area and outside kitchen area
they provide a thick mulch on the ground in this area
now if you cant use your leaves or give them away
consider putting them in your green waste can to go to the cities recycle system
dont burn them
give them away
or
just let them scatter to the winds
nature knows what to do with them
or
make a big ole pile real high
then
go jump in them with your kids and your dogs
remember how much fun that was
also composting your leaves is a great way to sequester that carbon
so
all good reasons to
just
save those leaves
the organicgreen doctor
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #162-more on supplements
my story revisited #162-more on supplements
MY STORY REVISITED #162-MORE ON SUPPLEMENTS
when i wrote this old blog below i was taking a lot of supplements based on research articles that i had read that suggested that they might help but werent definitely scientifically proven to work
i also was taking a vitamin b complex giving me extra amounts of vitamin bs that i might need
after i got sick 2 years ago i couldnt tolerate the b complex anymore since they worsened my indigestion
thats also when i started weaning off some of my supplements
i chose the ones that werent proven science and werent based on abnormal labs
vitamin d vitamin b12 folic acid i take based on abnormal labs described in the blog below
one supplemnet i was taking was resveratrol
its found in red wine and other grape fluids peanuts blueberries and dark chocolate
a large study was being done at that time that was looking to show if it really helped slow down alzheimers
so i started taking it
later i discontinued it when the study showed it may not help any
later another study said it might help
so
i stopped it
i was drinking red wine each day but after i was sick two years ago i couldnt tolerate it anymore
ive not had any red wine or alcohol for over two years
bummer i say
i loved a glass of red wine premeal each night
what we know is science ebbs and flows
what might work today turns out later it doesnt
it is nice not to swallow all of those supplements every day
now i only take vitamin b12 folic acid vitamin d3
remember if you take any supplement or vitamin check with your providers and also check on the webmd drug interaction site to see if they interfere with each other and or your prescription or over the counter medications
it would take me about 3 more years to start stopping some of my supplements
the covid illness finish my supplement use except for those 3 listed above plus my probiotic
__________
10-13-2014
REVERSE A TROL
thats a misspelling i made up for the chemical
resveratrol
its a hope that i have and that researchers have
that reverse is what it can do
more in a minute
a correction to last fridays blog
i wrote the results of the ucla study was not anecdotal
the author when i went back to review it says clearly
these results are anecdotal
only
i guess when a more lengthy study involving more people
with a control group is done then this can be considered
not anecdotal
as i said last week
time is not on my side
i cant wait for that to happen
i got all my labs back
my crp was normal
8 years ago it was elevated
its a measure of inflammation
i still plan to continue the vit e omega fish oil curcumin and
good dental hygiene
patientadvocates.com
my homocysteine level is elevated
8 years ago it was up and now its higher
this time its is 13.7 with the recommended level <7
it is an amino acid that has been shown if it is elevated
a person may have a doubled chance of getting alzheimers disease
the treatment which i will do is to take folic acid at 0.8 mg a day
the dose a pregnant lady takes in her prenatal vitamins
and will also take b12 and vit b6 also which may help decrease
the homocysteine level
my vit b12 level was slightly low at 162 with the normal level
being >192
for this result i was surprised
i dont eat a lot of meat
i do eat an egg a day
i do eat cheese twice a day
i dont eat fortified cereals
i rarely ever eat seafood
or fish
i think my low level may be due to the chronic reflux i have
and the fact i take acid reducers every day
so
i will start taking a vit b12 supplement level every day to bring
the level back up to normal
i will take 1mgm or 1000mcg a day
remember
a low b12 level can be a cause of memory loss
although my level is probably not low enough to cause memory loss
but it could have eventually got there
my 25-oh vit d3 level was slightly low at 46
recommended levels are 50-100
this one i was surprised at since i get so much sunlight
i frequently use sunscreen but will leave it off some
so i can get sunlight directly on my skin
if you saw my farmers tan you would believe me
i dont ever drink milk but do eat cheese twice a day
so
i will add 25-oh vit d3 at a dose of 500-1000 units a day
my thyroid levels and testosterone levels are normal
i will repeat these levels on the above tests in 6 months to
ensure they are back to normal
and will probably have to stay on the supplements long term
now back to reverse a trol
resveratrol is a chemical that is found in grapes peanuts blueberries
and dark chocolate
it is thought to reverse the srti ratio in the brain which means it
increases the production of an anti aging enzyme
a 12 month study done at multiple sites in the us will be published
this year
patients were given high doses of reverse a trol (sic) and levels
of the bad stuff beta amyloid and tau protein were measured
as well as neuropsych tests were done
anecdotally theres that word again some people reported an
improvement in their memory during the course of the study
for me this supplement may be important as people like
me who have the apoe4 gene have a reversal of the srti ratio
which means we dont make enough anti aging enzyme
so
by taking the reverse a trol (sic) the ratio will be increased
and the disease process may slow down
so
heres another supplement ill add to my regimen today
resveratrol starting at 500 mg then ill probably max it out
at 2000 mg if i tolerate it ok
i will adjust the dose some when the study results are published
so now im all ready for my regimen of
16 supplements
__________
if you are in the alzheimers world or about to enter that world keep a close eye on lecanemab
as i hear all these national neurology and alzheimers experts i read and hear excitement over this drug
the same was noted when i was in for my last infusion last week at ucla
yes a lot of excitement
most feel this drug will be approved by the fda next year and probably medicare will agree pay for it
it will be used only in folks like me who are early in the disease
i plan on finishing my study which will take over 2 more years
then i will decide whether to take my drug aduhelm or lecanemab long term after my study is finished
stay tuned
we need some good news
lets see what ill be writing about all this in my blog 8 years from now
if i am still writing my blog then
then
you will know these medicines worked
the organicgreen doctor
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Monday, December 12, 2022
organicgreendoctor: covid 19-worry about your granny
covid 19-worry about your granny
COVID 19-WORRY ABOUT YOUR GRANNY
i told my wife she this summer that it was going to be a bad winter for covid and other respiratory illnesses
i knew the covid wouldnt go away and would keep mutating to gain some type of advantage to be able to infect folks
it evolved from the wildtype to where it now evades the immunity from the original covid vaxxine and the immunity from getting infected
now the new bivalent vaxxine doesnt work as well as the original one did against the wildtype
folks still are getting sick but they arent dying or getting hospitalized as much
unless they are unvaxxed or older folks or immunosuppressed
we lose around 200-300 a day still from covid
eg we were totally vaxxed and we were about to get the bivalent vaxxine in october when we got covid
my symptoms lasted one day mainly because i was vaxxed and because i got on paxlovid
i did get a rebound for 3 days but it also was mild even milder than a common cold
i also knew that rsv or respiratory syncytial virus didnt have an increase in the last two years because folks were masked and were isolated
with us all going about and kids back to school and to daycare especially the under 2 year olds
i knew this was going to be an increase in rsv cases
boy was i right on that one
i also knew the flu was not bad the last two years but i knew it would be worse this year
was i ever right on that one
there was also a warning from australia they were getting hit hard
lucky for us the flu vaxxine seems to be working against this years h3n2 flu
these 3 virus outbursts are now called the trifecta or tripledemic
covid rsv flu
i also told my wife she i planned to wear my mask all winter long when i get in high risk situations
thats what i have done
i may keep doing that every winter and also as long as the covid numbers stay up some
i read where our local hospital had to reactivate their covid unit for mainly covid and flu cases
who do you need to worry about the most during this trifecta or tripledemic
well
worry about your granny
she is the most vulnerable
make sure your granny
got her flu shot
got all her covid shots including the bivalent covid shot
next summer the rsv shot should be available for grannies
make sure granny gets one
keep her away from rsv flu or covid or other virus sick grandkids nieces nephews
all three of these can make granny real sick
make sure granny wears her mask like i do in high risk situations
this is the mask i have settled on to wear
i started the pandemic with cloth masks but eventually ended up with these
they are n95 masks
they are black so they didnt get as dirty
i have about 6 of them left
if you are sick wear a mask around granny or stay away from her
also remember the young babies pregnant women and immunosuppressed folks that are also quite vulnerable to these infections
like you would if your loved one had cancer and was on chemotherapy
of course they would be masking all the time
wash our hands a lot
so
dont be the one that makes granny sick
a lot of folks died from covid who would be alive today had they done all these things above
grandparents aunts uncles nephews nieces fellow employees bosses teachers preachers
thousands of them died unnecessarily from covid
thanks to false narratives espoused by many folks
shame on them
the organicgreen doctor
Friday, December 9, 2022
organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-can ant bites detect alzheimers di...
alzheimers news-can ant bites detect alzheimers disease
ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CAN ANT BITES DETECT ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
the other day i was working in the garden and i looked down and saw all these ants crawling all over my arm
i quickly wiped them off a reflex from years living in texas
there the fire ants are everywhere
if you stir up their anger they will crawl up you arm or leg and sting the heck out of you
leaving a lot of pain and residual pustules that look like chicken pox
the pain you feel is from the bite and the injection of juice from their stingers that inject formic acid into the skin
that hurts real bad especially of you get a swarm of them on you
been there done that many times
so it was with interest when i read this review article linked here
it was about a new urine test you can do that measures a substance in the urine called
formic acid
like the ants inject into you
here is the original published research article
the goal in treating alzheimers disease as we find new drugs that may work better if we start them real early in the disease is to have biomarkers we can use identify those who have it
biomarkers for alzheimers available now are
spinal fluid for amyloid and tau
amyloid pet scans
tau pet scans
just beginning to be available in the private world but done in research studies are blood tests
i have had all 4 of these
my spinal fluid and my amyloid pet scans are positive
the other 2 i dont get to see the results of since they are done in a blinded study
the cheapest of these is around $1000+ ie blood tests
the most expensive are the scans which range from $5000-$10000
usually insurances or medicare dont pay for them
these researchers think they have found a cheap screening test in the urine
measuring the formic acid level
it was positive in all stages of alzheimers
it was also positive in the early stage called subjective cognitive decline
that stage between normal memory and mild cognitive impairment
if this shows to be accurate in further research then it may become an easier cheaper biomarker screening test for alzheimers disease
i wonder if you got bit by fire ants if that would make the urine test positive for formic acid
i also wonder if your formic acid is high in your urine if it would burn when you pee like with ant bites
man
is sure hope not
so
in texas the next time you get bit by a fire ant
think about getting memory screening if you have memory issues
think about those loved ones who have the disease or had the disease
think about those affected whose loved ones are caregivers
think about getting into a clinical trial before it starts and even if its started already
so
think ant bite
think
alzheimers disease
they both hurt
an aside here at the end of the blog
i as i wrote on wednesday spent about 30 minutes talking with the research neurologist running the study i am in
we reviewed some of the recent studies presented at the recent san francisco alzheimers conference
we also talked about my diagnosis and my journey which is well documented in my blog the last 12 years
we talked of how i was accidently diagnosed and how my memory faded some for a couple of years then started improving
so that today my in office memory tests moca and mmse are normal
its felt that im lucky to have been accidently diagnosed
this encouraged me to
be aggressive in caring for my health
start aricept or donepezil early in my disease so i would get its full benefit
have gotten in the aduhelm or aducanumab study so that i have now received 2 years of the monthly infusions
so if i could see my amyloid pet scans most of the plaques should be removed
if it helps slow down the disease as a group we should know in about 2 years
we feel like that it will probably show that it slows it down
now
all that i am doing is available to anyone that wants to participate
we now know the earlier you can be diagnosed and the more aggressive you get
the better the results
be ready
next year the lecanemab will probably be started to be used in the private medical practices in those who have early disease only
following that
when the research gets finished
it will be given to those who want to know they have it before symptoms start
ie before you have symptoms you can get treated
my drug aduhelm if it shows it works like lecanemab does will be available also
my guess is lecanemab will win the battle for the one to use
then
more and better drugs will follow these
so
dont let the ants bite you
your test may be positive
consider getting screened by peeing in a cup when the formic acid test becomes available if it shows its accurate for screening
the organicgreen doctor
Thursday, December 8, 2022
organicgreendoctor: garden news-it starts with a seed
garden news-it starts with a seed
GARDEN NEWS-IT STARTS WITH A SEED
a celery seed looks this big .
we grow about 100 plants each year in our community garden
we donate a lot of them to the organic soup kitchen
their story is on their website
they started as a nonprofit by a local chef who wanted to provide highly nutritious and high caloric soup for patients undergoing chemotherapy
these patients have issues with eating and maintaining their nutrition
from there it grew to elderly folks and those in need of a nutritious meal
when i was sick in 2020 from what i think was covid i practically lived off these organic soup kitchen soups
later when i recovered i mimicked their recipes when i make soup
no they wont give you their recipes
many of their soups are given away based on ones finances and needs
i rate them as the best soups ive ever eaten
almost every soup has celery in it
since eating these soups ive started adding celery to my beans stews etc
mimicking their recipes as much as i can
they have their ingredients on the containers
i bought the utah celery seeds from botanical interests last winter
they are slow slow growers in the greenhouse
we add that tiny little dot of a seed in a small cell that has potting soil in it
it has about 40 cells in the tray
then
we keep it watered
then
we wait and wait
then
up grows the tiny celery
then
when it finally gets bigger
we bump it up into a 4 inch pot with potting soil
then
we wait and wait and wait
finally
we have enough of them growing and they are large enough to plant in our garden
this year one planting we did was in two raised beds about 2 ft tall
the bed is made of 4 ft x 10 ft redwood or cedar boards
the bottom is covered completely with hardware cloth to keep out those pesky gophers
then
a layer of rock is added to help with drainage
then
this year since our original soil seemed to not hold moisture well and since we arent sure its good soil anymore
well we decided to make new soil
so
we dug out all the soil
added a deep layer of coarse ground mulch
added a thick layer of christmas lima been vines
added a layer of chicken manure compost from our coup and from our garden debris
added a good soaking of fish emulsion plus seaweed plus molasses to help break down the mulch and vines
added a layer of the original soil
added a layer of compost
added a layer of original spoil
added a sprinkling of organic fertilizer
added a layer of compost
added a layer of original soil
added the fish emulsion and seaweed and molasses
covered it all with a thick layer of mulch
let it sit for about a month
then
it was ready for planting
we took these 30 celery plants that were ready for transplanting
remember they started from a celery seed this small .
and planted them in our raised beds
these beds were made as an eagle scout project a few years ago
the planting holes are spaced 2 ft apart
there are 3 rows in each bed
in each hole a tbsp or so of worm compost was added
i do it like when you cook i just guess like they do on those cooking shows
then
each celery plant is planted in the hole and watered in well with the fish emulsion and seaweed and molasses
then
we wait until they grow big enough to harvest
we will get months of harvesting off these 30 celeries until the weather warms up in the late spring
so
later this winter if you go to the organic soup kitchen and buy some of their soup
look to see if it had celery in it which it will
we probably grew that celery from that little ole seed this big .
we also do this with swiss chard lettuce parsley curly kale dinosaur kale cabbage broccoli peas broccolini romanesco cilantro
we plant our onions and leeks and garlic from plants we bug or order online
most though we start with that little ole seed .
this always amazes me that this little ole seed . can become those big ole plants
yes we give it all away to shelters and food kitchens
the organicgreen doctor