text:
Friday, August 12, 2011
Fighting Blight: A Fermented Recipe
After planting over 60 tomatoes, I was on the verge of loosing every single one of them to blight. I searched online for organic home remedies and found some, such as epsom salt dissolved in water. Unfortunately, I did not find that this particular solution made any noticeable difference to my plants.
Fermented foods are incredibly good for us. They provide loads of good bacteria to help fight and overpopulate the bad. It makes sense to reason then that fermented formulas would help us fight microbial pests in the garden too. After all, the soil could be likened to the human digestive system, with beneficial bacteria working hard to make nutrients available for use while keeping dangerous pathogens in check.
I recalled reading about a fermented garlic and ginger recipe to deal with fungal problems in the garden a long time ago. Since I'm learning to incorporate fermented foods in my diet, it felt appropriate to try this for my tomatoes as well.
The results to date have been amazing. My tomato plants are looking incredible and the tomatoes themselves are ripening quickly without any signs of being infected. I have been spraying this solution weekly to continue to keep the tomato plants healthy and to harvest what tomatoes remain on the plants.
What follows is the protocol and recipe I used:
Fermented Ginger & Garlic Spray (makes 2 gallons)
2 small garlic bulbs
2 small ginger roots (equivalent in size to the garlic)
1/2 cup cane sugar (do not use white sugar)
Purified water
2 gallon mason jar with lid
Sprayer or mister
Peel, crush, chop and mince your garlic and place it into your mason jar. Do the same with your ginger. Fill with purified water, leaving one inch of head space. Do not use chlorinated water, as it will inhibit bacterial growth. Place lid on loosely. Let steep at room temper for 24 hours.
Add the cane sugar, stir and set the lid on top of the jar. I used a glass lid, which provides weight, but still allows air to bubble out as it ferments. Place in a warm spot for five days. The solution will turn cloudy when it is ready to use. Strain and refrigerate until you're ready to spray.
Remove all yellow leaves and any leaves touching the fruit on your tomato plants. Remove any additional leaves that may be inhibiting air circulation around your plants. Use a ratio of approximately 1/10 solution to 9/10 water (rain barrel water preferably). Spray the plants and fruit thoroughly. I continued to spray everything in my garden - except my lettuce - with this solution. Store leftover solution in a cold cellar or fridge until you need it again. When you're down to one batch left, start another jar fermenting.
Note: When I started experimenting with this solution, my aim was to save what was left of my harvest, and so I snapped off all new growth on my plants. I do not know if this solution would have allowed me to continue developing new fruit or not.
Linked to Fight Back Friday, Barn Hop, Tomato Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, WFMW, Health2Day
Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thurdsay, Living Well Blog Hop.
23 comments:
- Moira said...
I am going to try this thanks!!!
- August 12, 2011 at 7:05 AM
- Andrea said...
I wish I am living in our farm to be trying this. At the moment, my mothers vegetables are just left on their own, survival of the fittest. It is good we are growing traditional varieties and not hybrids, which are more susceptible and needs lots of nutrients. I hope many will read this post.
- August 12, 2011 at 7:54 AM
- cmv... said...
brilliant! wish I would have found this when i lost ALL of my tomatoes to blight two years ago.
- August 12, 2011 at 9:33 AM
Wow! Impressive. I wonder if just using fermented liquids, like whey or kombucha, would work as well.
- August 12, 2011 at 12:33 PM
- Shanon Hilton said...
Hi CMV, I lost 90% of my tomatoes last year to blight, so hopefully this will be helpful if your tomatoes get infected again!
- August 12, 2011 at 6:02 PM
- Shanon Hilton said...
Hi Clabbermouth, I'm really not sure, but definitely something to experiment with. If you do, let me know how it works!
- August 12, 2011 at 6:03 PM
- Shanon Hilton said...
Hi Moira, Let me know how it goes! Thanks for commenting!
- August 12, 2011 at 6:03 PM
- Shanon Hilton said...
Hi Andrea, I think heritage seeds are definitely the way to go, and it would be great if you saved the seeds from your Mother's garden. They may just toughen up from the neglect and produce even better next year!
- August 12, 2011 at 6:05 PM
- COB said...
You are a freaking genius!!!! I have never heard of this before, but I LOVE IT!! Way to go you!!
- August 12, 2011 at 8:29 PM
- COB said...
You are a freaking genius. I have never heard of this but I LOVE IT!!! Way to go you!!
- August 12, 2011 at 8:29 PM
- Rachel said...
All my tomatoes are on their way out. It's gotten progressively worse each year (not surprisingly) and we had a lot of rain this year, haven't had to water but a few times. I think I'll try this and see if anything can be salvaged and definitely plan on it for next year.
- August 13, 2011 at 8:17 AM
- christin b said...
Do you ever ingest this? I was thinking salad dressing by adding oil??...Seems like a great thing to sip when you are sick,
- August 13, 2011 at 12:24 PM
- Shanon Hilton said...
COB:Thanks, that's sweet of you.
Rachel: I'm thinking if I start this protocol earlier next year, maybe I'll be able to keep the blight at bay altogether and hopefully, get a bigger harvest!
Christin: No, I've never drank this. Garlic and ginger are definitely good if you're sick though.
- August 13, 2011 at 1:48 PM
- countrygoddess said...
I will be making a batch. I live in Vermont and last year we had a terrible tomato blight that wiped out everyone's plants. I've heard that this year there is another blight going around and I don't want my beautiful plants to fall victim. Thank you!!
- August 16, 2011 at 1:18 AM
- Carol J. Alexander said...
Very interesting. I'm going to keep this in mind for next season. Thanks for posting.
- August 16, 2011 at 6:47 AM
- Allison at Novice Life said...
Ohhhhhhhhhhh - thank you so much for sharing. I am definitely going to hang on to this!
- August 16, 2011 at 8:17 AM
- Ubermom said...
Holy cow! We are struggling with blight on the cucumbers right now. Brilliant! My second oldest son is a fanatic about the garden and he's getting going on this. Thanks! By the way, I came over from Real Food Wednesday.
- August 17, 2011 at 8:10 AM
- Diana Bauman said...
Oh my goodness, I am going to have to try this next season! Thanks so much for sharing!!
- August 19, 2011 at 6:21 AM
- Jo's Health Corner/www.naturallysports.com said...
Wow! This is great!I always looking for a natural approach to deal with problems in the garden..
Thanks for linking up to the Living Well Blog Hop! We really appreciate it..We hope to see you this Friday again..
- August 24, 2011 at 10:16 PM
- Kendra at New Life On A Homestead said...
Thank you so much for sharing this!! I always have trouble with blight with my tomatoes especially. Sure wish I had this recipe in Spring, lol!! I'm anxious to give it a try next year. THANK YOU!!
- August 27, 2011 at 6:23 AM
- Beebs said...
Quick (dumb) question. You state "cane sugar", not white sugar. Do ya use brown cane?
- April 22, 2012 at 3:21 PM
- Shanon Hilton said...
Not a dumb question at all. As I understand it, white sugar - due to it's bleaching - contains chemical residues that affect the bacterial fermentation. So, I've always used cane sugar that wasn't bleached, or brown cane sugar. Hope that's helpful.
- April 25, 2012 at 9:13 AM
- Beebs said...
Thanks Shanon...sure does. Unfortunately, I bought white pure can sugar & used that. I has now been 5 days since I added the pure cane sugar. I'm going to strain it & try it (if I get blight again this year), but will also make another batch with brown cane sugar.
Thanks again...Beebs
- April 25, 2012 at 4:43 PM


text:
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Nuclear magnetic resonance offers new insights into Pu 239
Get Expertise
- Scientist
- Eric Bauer
- Condensed Matter & Magnet Science
- Professor
- Hiroshi Yasuoka
- Japan Atomic Energy Agency
Nuclear magnetic resonance offers new insights into Pu 239
Fingerprint of element found by LANL/Japanese team
The faint signal of plutonium 239's unique nuclear magnetic resonance signature has been detected by scientists at LANL and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA).
This signal promises to become a Rosetta stone for deciphering the complex atomic-scale electronic properties of this perplexing element. Their paper on the subject, "Observation of 239 Pu Nuclear Magnetic Resonance," was published in the May 18 issue of Science.
Discovery ends 50-year search for nuclear magnetic resonance signal
For more than 50 years, chemists and physicists have been searching for the plutonium 239 magnetic resonance signal. Only now, in an international collaboration between LANL and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, a team of chemists and physicists at LANL together has determined just the right conditions for observing the signal.
The team led by visiting professor Hiroshi Yasuoka of JAEA and Georgios Koutroulakis of LANL observed the plutonium 239 resonance from a high purity solid sample of plutonium dioxide, PuO2, at a temperature of 4 Kelvin as a function of magnetic field.
Observation of matter at atomic scales
Since its discovery in 1946, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has evolved into one of the most widely used techniques for the characterization of materials at the atomic and molecular levels and has formed the basis for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
NMR has revolutionized the practice of chemistry, physics, and medicine by providing a non-invasive method for the observation of matter at atomic scales.
"Just as knowing the NMR properties of other nuclei has advanced so significantly our ability to understand complex materials and phenomena as well as to image matter on a microscopic scale," said Koutroulakis. "This discovery of the plutonium 239 magnetic resonance promises to revolutionize our understanding of plutonium solid state physics, chemistry, biology and materials science."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
MIDDLEBURY — On Tuesday, April 1, Gabe Sherman, a contributing editor at New York magazine and a 2001 graduate of Middlebury College, will speak at the college about his just published book on Fox News and Roger Ailes, the president of Fox New Channel and an advisor to Republican presidents.
Sherman's new book is titled "The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News — and Divided a Country."
Sherman's visit to Middlebury College is part of the regular Meet the Press series hosted by Sue Halpern. The speech will be held at McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Room 216, at 4:30 p.m. The talk and discussion are free and open to the public. The title of the speech is: "Inside the Secret World of Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes — The Man Who Remade American Politics."
In his dozen years as a media reporter, Sherman has written many noteworthy stories:
•A 2011 New York cover story "The Elephant in the Green Room," about Ailes's role in shaping the 2012 Republican presidential primary, was a finalist for the Mirror Award for "Best Single Article."
•A 2010 New York cover story "Chasing Fox," about the travails at CNN and MSNBC, won the Mirror Award in that category.
•In 2008, his New York cover story "Testing Horace Mann," chronicled a Facebook scandal at the prestigious New York City prep school, and was a finalist for the Livingston Award.
•At the New Republic, Sherman's 2010 cover story, "Post Apocalypse," chronicled the rise and fall of the Washington Post as the legendary paper struggled to adapt to a new media landscape.
•In December 2008, he wrote a series of investigative articles that uncovered that Holocaust survivor Herman Rosenblat's Oprah-hyped memoir was a hoax.
•His February 2008 article revealed the internal newsroom debate at The New York Times over the paper's decision to publish a controversial article that alleged that 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain had had an affair with telecommunications lobbyist Vicki Iseman.
Previously, Sherman was the media reporter at the New York Observer, where he reported on The New York Times, including the paper's flawed coverage of Saddam Hussein's Weapons of Mass Destruction and the decision to delay publishing its National Security Agency wiretapping exclusive for more than a year. He reported on Judith Miller's standoff with Times editors and reporters, and ultimately sat down for Miller's first interview on the eve of her resignation from the paper. From 2006-2007, Sherman was a staff writer at Conde Nast Portfolio.
He has served as a guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC World News and National Public Radio, and his journalism has appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian, Slate, GQ, the Atlantic, Wired, Outside Magazine and National Geographic Adventure, among other publications.
A competitive runner, he has run six marathons and finished the 2003 New York City Marathon in 2:56:29. He has also run up the stairs of the Empire State Building in 13:26.
Born in Newton, Mass., Sherman grew up outside Washington, D.C., and later in Westport, Conn. He attended Middlebury College, and currently lives in New York City with his wife, Jennifer Stahl.


text:
Commitment 2006: Meet Democratic Secretary Of State Candidates
Commitment 2006: Meet Democratic Secretary Of State Candidates
As part of Commitment 2006, NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner sat down with the Democratic candidates who would like to be the commonwealth's Secretary of State for the next four years.
Sitting Secretary of State Bill Galvin, 55, is seeking his fourth term as Secretary of State. He is a former state representative from Brighton. He is married and the father of one daughter.
Candidate John Bonifaz, of Jamaica Plain, is a newcomer to seeking elected office, although he has had a passion for voting rights for some time. Bonifaz, 40, a constitutional law attorney and a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law School.
He and his wife are expecting their first child.
Click on the links below to watch the show:
Web Exclusive Videos:


text:
Lot's of stuff: ranging from an advance track from Dave & Phil Alvin's upcoming tribute to Big Bill Broonzy and also an advance from Dex Romweber Duo. Also the Stones, Anders Osborne, Billy "The Kid" Emerson, Garland Jeffreys, Black Oak Arkansas Texas Tornados, Blasters, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Tom Russell, Will Kimbrough, Sara Lee (not the pastry lady), and more. Plus an interview with Mike Arturi of Lovin' Spoonful. Full playlist is available is you click "episode details". You may also log on the the archive of the show from there.
New stuff by Les Claypool's (of Primus) Duo de Twang, Lowell Levinger (Banana of Youngbloods), Jake Ilika & The Heavy Set, Paul Rodgers, The Butanes, and Daryl Anger (interviewed him, too). Plus classic Koerner & Murphy, The Blasters, Phil Alvin, Bonnie Raitt, Doug Sahm, Willie Dixon, The Who, Huey "Piano" Smith, Jerry Garcia, Tony Joe White, and other stuff. Click "episode details" to see the playlist.
Alejandro Escovedo interview; Drew Peterson of Dead Pigeons came into the studio with his new one. Newer music by Grant Peeples, Moot Davis, Chuck Ragan. Plus, Flo & Eddie reggae, Jon Dee Graham, The True Believers, Blasters, Barrence Whitfield, Martin Sexton, Big George Jackson and more. Click "Episode Details" for full playlist and link to archive.
Privacy Statement
© KFAI, 1808 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454 Tel: 612-341-3144


text:
International Environmental Law and Policy
This course examines how society manages --and sometimes fails to manage--environmental issues that fall beyond the authority or capability of a single national government.
During the semester students will:
*Become be familiar with the legal, policy and philosophical issues relating to international juridical norms whose purpose is to protect the environment or regulate activities impacting on the environment
*Understand the implications that international environmental norms raise for concepts that underpin the international state system (i.e. state sovereignty and domestic jurisdiction)
*Have a thorough knowledge of basic international legal norms governing the environment
*Understand the limits and utility of the existing norms relating to the global environment
*Appreciate the interaction and tension between various international actors and institutions in the development and implementation of international environmental norms
*Be able to apply principles of international environmental law to a wide array of contemporary international environmental problems
Topics covered in the course will include:
*The nature of international environmental issues: context and concepts
*Theoretical perspectives and approaches to international environmental problem solving
*International environmental lawmaking and general principles
*Compliance and dispute resolution
*Norms of international environmental protection, including regulatory mechanisms for: climate change; biological diversity and biosafety; the marine environment (living resources and pollution); the polar regions; and hazardous substances and transboundary movement
*The relationship between international environmental law and other legal regimes
Comments/Suggestions | Site Map | Work Requests | Admin Portal | Disclaimer | Supported Browsers | U of M Home
Regents of the
University of Michigan. All images property of Michigan Law
The University of Michigan Law School.
625 South State Street,
Ann Arbor, Michigan
48109-1215 USA - Contact Us


text:
To: Harold Putnam
Chief Financial Officer
Neighborhood Health Plan, Inc.
253 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Health Care Access Bureau
Division of Insurance
1000 Washington Street
Suite 810
Boston MA 02118-6200
Attorney General Martha Coakley
Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Hearing Scheduled for April 23, 2010
On April 1, 2010, Kevin P. Beagan, Deputy Commissioner, Health Care Access Bureau, disapproved the rate filing for health plans offering health insurance to non-group and small groups that Neighborhood Health Plan, Inc. ("the HMO") filed on March 2, 2010 ("the Filing"), except for the Care Two, Care Two Select, Care One and Care Three Select products ("April 1 Disapproval"). The HMO has requested a hearing ("HMO's request") concerning the April 1 Disapproval. The hearing will be conducted in accordance with the Formal Rules of the Standard Adjudicatory Rules of Practice and Procedure, 801 CMR 1.00, et seq.
The hearing will commence on April 23, 2010, at 1:30 p.m. at the offices of the Division at 1000 Washington Street, 1st Floor, Boston, MA 02118-6200. The parties should be prepared to clarify the issues to be contested in this case, to identify and schedule any exchange of information, to consider the possibility of obtaining agreement or stipulation as to facts and documents, to identify and schedule witnesses, and to address any other matter which may aid in the disposition of this proceeding.
Any person, not initially a party, who may be substantially and specifically affected by the hearing and wishes to intervene or participate in the hearing shall file a written petition for leave to intervene or participate no later than at the April 23, 2010 hearing. The petition shall state the petitioner's name and address, describe the manner in which the petitioner may be affected by the hearing, state why intervention or participation should be allowed, state any relief sought, and cite any law supporting intervention or participation. The petitioner shall serve copies of the petition on the parties at the April 23, 2010 hearing.
The HMO shall file with the Hearings and Appeals Docket Clerk of the Division of Insurance ("Docket Clerk") no later than 10:00 a.m. on April 20, 2010, a sequentially-numbered hearing statement ("the HMO's Statement"), consisting of the following:
(1) The HMO's Filing;
(2) A statement of the specific facts which form the basis for the HMO's request for hearing, including identification of each statutory or legal basis on which it relies;
(3) A copy of the April 1 Disapproval;
(4) A list of all products subject to the April 1 Disapproval;
(5) A statement of the specific errors the HMO asserts that the Commissioner has made, including a detailed statement of the matters in the April 1 Disapproval that it disputes and, for each issue, what products are involved;
(6) A statement of the relief the HMO seeks from the hearing;
(7) The identity of any person who will be the authorized representative of, or counsel for, the HMO in this proceeding;
(8) Other documents that it believes are relevant to the issues that it raises; and
(9) Certification of service of copies as specified below.
The HMO's Statement and any other information submitted to the Presiding Officers shall include both paper and electronic copies as follows:
(1) 5 paper copies, including one copy in an unbound format, addressed as follows:
Docket Clerk,
Hearings and Appeals
Division of Insurance
1000 Washington Street
Suite 810
Boston, MA 02118-6200.
(2) an electronic copy in a WORD 1997-2003 version format transmitted to the Hearings and Appeals Docket Clerk at firstname.lastname@example.com.
(3) the docket number assigned to this matter must be included.
The HMO simultaneously shall serve a copy of the HMO's Statement and any other information submitted to the Presiding Officers in this matter on the Division and party intervenors, including the Attorney General, if she has intervened.
The HMO shall engage a qualified stenographer officially to record and transcribe all parts of the hearing. The HMO shall pay the stenographer's fees, including any fee for expedited transcripts, together with the cost of providing to the Docket Clerk an electronic version and four paper copies of the transcript, including a minuscript, one copy to the Division, and one copy to the Attorney General, if she has intervened.
Filed: April 15, 2010
Jean F. Farrington
Presiding Officer
Stephen M. Sumner
Presiding Officer
Susan L. Donegan
Presiding Officer


text:
The Role of the Oceanic Thermal Skin as a Modifier of CO2 Uptake
OCCI Project Funded: 2004
Proposed Research
What are the primary questions you are trying to address
with this research?
This project focuses on the influence of small-scale effects on the global air-sea flux of CO2. Within the upper millimeter of the ocean, there is a large temperature gradient, leading to the so-called oceanic thermal skin effect where the temperature at the ocean surface is cooler than the water below. This can play a large role in the air-sea exchange of CO2 through the sensitivity of the solubility of CO2 to temperature.
What is the significance of this research for others working in this
field of inquiry and for the broader scientific community?
The oceans are the largest absorber of atmospheric CO2. One of the most urgent requirements in current climate research is the accurate determination of the global oceanic uptake of CO2. Sources and sinks of CO2 vary across the globe on a seasonal to annual basis. Knowledge of the rate of CO2 transfer will allow us to make predictions of future climate with greater confidence. This project aims to improve estimates of CO2 uptake by incorporating the skin effect into CO2 flux relationships.
What is the significance of this research for society?
The societal relevance of this project is through an increased understanding of some of the processes responsible for enhancing oceanic uptake of CO2, which constitutes the highest percentage of all greenhouse gases.
When and where will this investigation be conducted??
The compilation of a database with coincident in-situ radiometric skin temperatures and pCO2 data has been undertaken, and some preliminary results of this analysis were presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in January 2004. These funds will allow us to complete the analysis and determine the extent to which the skin effect is responsible for influencing the estimate of the global CO2 fluxes. This analysis will be conducted over the coming year, and will culminate with a paper in a scientific journal.
What are the key tools or instruments needed to conduct
this research?
The data has been acquired, and so the only tool required is a computer for the data analysis. Matlab will be used extensively for this project.
What are the greatest challenges – physical or intellectual
– to conducting this investigation?
The greatest challenge in oceanographic research is going to sea and making measurements. The data for this project has come from 12 measurement campaigns, and provides extensive coverage over the Northern Hemisphere. Unfortunately, there is scant coverage in the Southern Oceans (see map show cruise track lines), where there exists the greatest uncertainties in the oceanic uptake of CO2. One of the biggest challenges is this research will be to develop a model that accurately reflects the skin effect on a global basis. However, it will provide some constraints on the current estimates of the skin effect.
Is this research part of a larger project or program?
This project is relevant to the International SOLAS (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study) initiative which has as its goal to quantify biogeochemical–physical atmosphere–ocean interactions and determine how this coupled system affects climate and environmental change. One of the key objectives is accurate quantification of air–sea gas transfer rates.
If you have conducted previous/similar work on this subject,
please suggest any web links or citations that might help others
better understand the background to your line of research. If appropriate
and readily available, please suggest or provide photographs, illustrations,
tables, and charts, as well.
Preliminary results for this project were presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, in January 2004. Please see linked schematic 04ward2.pdf. Below is the map which shows the cruise track lines from which this data is used. Further information on my research can be found at: http://www.whoi.edu/science/AOPE/people/bward/