OTOH, the cucumbers from our garden this year taste just horrible. Not sure what happened; they are usually quite delicious. Last year they were an “A+,” this year we got a “C–.” Thanks Zeus (and Smith’s invisible hand) for the “B” cucumbers from the store all year round.
Leave a small note in the cucumber patch, threatening to kill every cucumber plant if they don’t shape up and produce B+ at least.
I did that once with a barren apple tree. An old timer told me to use a wrapped sledgehammer and give the tree a few good whacks. Sure enough, it got the message and we had a nice little crop the next season….
Actually there is a grain of truth in applying stressors. Many flowering plants when deprived of water will bloom prematurely Apparently it is a survival techinique when the plant is stressed. It will try to spread its pollen and avoid extinction. Of course this is not conscious, but the story of the apple tree is true. You apply a sudden stress factor and the response is propagation as soon as possible. Another strange phenomena is the rate of female babies being born after a war, which primarily kills men.
Apparently, a technique in growing marijuana is to cull out the male plants and the female plants will respond by producing more and more THC. I have seen pictures of Sativa buds dripping wet with THC. It is almost sensual in expression.
Growing up in rural Vt. I more than once heard it said that ” Two things improve with a good beating.” One of the two things was an apple tree. Not cool.
I don’t know if it’s still accepted as organic practice but around here it used to be considered “organic” to grow vegetables through a black plastic mulch. Covering multiple acres with 5 mils of a product produced from petroleum seems to push the definition of organic. And, it also used to be that “organic” dairies allowed no antibiotics at all on the premises. Cattle with mastitis had to either suffer and die, or be maimed by a common infection that is usually easily curable, or else they were sold out of the herd, often to be slaughtered. I hope that’s not still true. It may have been an “organic” practice, but certainly not a humane one. And the raw milk thing, Ugh! I spent much of my youth working on dairy farms and even if it’s my cow, under my care, with a recent clean bill of health I’d barely consider the idea.
Another strange phenomena is the rate of female babies being born after a war, which primarily kills men.
The term “phenomena” refers to the word, “rate” which is singular (note the verb “is” preceding it). While the discussion may have been about the plural, “babies”, the incedent is singular and should be “phenomenon” as George pointed out. (Hmmmm. I ended that sentence with a preposition. Should I have said, “. . .as out of which George pointed.” ? )
More important than what we eat is how much we eat. Moderation in all things including moderation. In other words, don’t eat too much butter or chocolate or even carrots. Think of portions in realtionship to the palm of your hand. Think about it.
Come to think of it, I like the expression “a handful” much better than “a bellyful”...
The term “phenomena” refers to the word, “rate” which is singular (note the verb “is” preceding it). While the discussion may have been about the plural, “babies”, the incedent is singular and should be “phenomenon” as George pointed out. (Hmmmm
I think the word you want is ANTECEDENT Occam meaning to precede the verb.
