Ornamental Vegetables

I assume that most of you have your gardens going. If not, shame on you, unless you live in the extreme North.

If you are growing vegetables, do not think you have to sacrifice beauty. There are many vegetables that are very attractive, as lovely as any flowering annual.

I love ornamental broccoli and kale. After all, broccoli that you eat is just an unopened flower. The ornamental varieties are as easy to grow and very pretty.  I lived near a subdivision that used these broccolis and a ruffle leaf kale with purple variegated leaves to a fine effect.

Okra has a magnificent flower that resembles a cross between a hibiscus and a pansy. In addition, once the flower passes, you are left with attractive, interesting pods. Tomatoes, besides their taste and nutrition add nice color to any garden.

Herb gardens, with their assortment of greenery are always attractive.

My point is this: be daring and do what pleases you. Do not hesitate to display beautiful vegetables as proudly as you display your roses and petunias. You can find edible plants that make fine editions to your landscape, and, if you are an apartment gardener, you can add color and texture to your plantings while growing a healthy vegetable; a rare example of having your cake and eating it, too.

Watch Prices

Our President is pushing the notion that everything we buy should be American made. In theory, fine, but here's the snag. Companies will have to pay American workers more, a lot mote, than they pay folks in Malaysia or Guatemala. They, even if they are still seeing obscene profits, will pass that cost onto you. Even of they get that promised huge tax cut, they will pass that increased labor cost onto the consumer. This is not a very moral behavior, but businesses are not known for a deep interest in moral behavior.

So, we will see inflation. When you stop seeing all of those cheap imports from China and India at your local Walmart, you, the consumer, will be aghast. Here's what you need to do.

Inflation tends to spiral. It grows rapidly. The Fed will try to control it by manipulating interest rates. That will work to some degree, but there will be inflation. That raise you just got, if you're lucky, will not seem so big. Neither will your savings, if you have any. Eventually, the cycle will reverse, at least it always has, but no one will know when.

When you see prices rising (do not depend on government statements about interest; they only monitor certain products and services), start buying a few extra items. I am not encouraging hoarding, just stocking up on essentials, non-perishable foods, clothing, etc. Remember, your money will be worth less, so buy while the prices are lower.

Do not resort to credit. Remember, the Fed will be playing games with interest rates. Also, and it pains me to say this, don't worry a lot about saving money until the trend reverses. Remember, a $1000, in a time of inflation, is worth a lot less than it did when you put it in the bank. Also, watch those interest rates. If you lock into an account giving 3% interest and inflation jumps to 5%, you are locked into a losing deal.

For the moment, keep paying down debts and saving a little. Who knows? All of Trump's plans may fall a part and the economy might just keep staggering along as is. But, if you see prices creeping higher, be ready and act.

When You're Wrong, You're Wrong

The Practical American knows when to admit mistakes. No point being stubborn; just say the words, I was wrong.

For example, I believed the hype, fell for the con, and believed that the Trump Administration would actually improve the job market. Boy, was I wrong. It seems that all of those companies he claimed he had negotiated with to keep jobs in this Country were planning on staying anyway.

Then came the latest job report, which I noticed was not much reported. There was good reason for that. The projected number of new jobs was about 260000, not a great number, but not bad. The actual number was 98000, a number reminiscent of the Great Recession days.

Well, again, I was wrong. Having admitted that, there is only one thing to do, move on and adjust plans. How you adjust yours is up to you. Personally, I would start looking fpr extra jobs and new lines of work, just so you have as many options as possible. As always, pay down your debts and avoid using credit as much as possible. Things are going to get rough.

Ad mitting your wrong, about any subject is liberating. It frees you from clinging to mistakes and opens the future,

Be Specific and Precise

Be specific. That, in any craft work or any repair, and even in some cooking, is the essence of success. Know exactly what you want to accomplish and follow a predetermined set of plans. Don't improvise. Don't try to make do.

Know what you need for the task and assemble your materials and tools. Precisely measure everything. I cannot emphasize that enough. The old rule of carpentry is 'measure twice, cut once.' That is completely true.

In addition. if you are building anything in 3 dimensions, which is pretty much everything, measure your angles. Even something as simple as a box will be a total mess if you don't make sure you have pure right angles. A miter, meant to be cut at, say 45 degrees, will be a useless mess if it is 44 degrees.

Need  a circle? use a tool, say a piece of string, anchored at one spot, with a marker tied to the end, and make a perfect one. If you try to freehand it, you will botch things.

Even in cooking, an art that often allows improvisation, there are sometimes recipes that must be followed to the letter. If I am making a stew, I can toss in whatever I want, however it suits me, and the results will at least be edible. If i am baking a cake, I must follow the recipe and measure the amounts. A bit too little flour and it falls apart; too much and I end up with a very tasty doorstop.

The point is that some things must be done by-the-letter correct. Make your jobs simple by being precise.

 

Think Local

First, a note of warning. The other day, for dinner, I ate a product containing lentils. After eating a few bites, I noticed that many of those lentils were crunchy, undercooked. Do not eat undercooked lentils, unless you enjoy 3 days of stomach cramps and trips to the bathroom. It seems that, whe undercooked, they contain toxins. I can verify that.

Now, what I really want to say is that you need to start acting and thinking locally. Deal with local businesses whenever possible. Produce stands and Farmers' Markets, small clothing stores and bookshops, locally owned and operated businesses. small owner operated restaurants, these are vitally important.

Why? Well, it seems that our current administration is corporate oriented. Trump was telling the truth when he said that he wanted Washington to give up control of businesses, What he didn't say, and it is becoming very apparent, is the he is giving much of that control over to Corporate America. Corporations thrive by picking off small businesses, thus growing their own interests. They are predators.

The thing is, once we give the Nation over to those mega businesses, we lose diversity and innovation. We also lose the drive to improve. We become mediocre, settling for what they tell us we want. We lose what has made this Nation such a dynamic place to live.

I hate to bring up the fascist label, but when the government combines with big corporations to control the country, that is, by the definition of the word, fascism.

I grew up in a thriving Nation, full of quirky, ornery, creative individuals. Without your support for local businesses, that will be lost and that will be a shame.

Yes, shopping locally may cost you a dollar or two more, but I guarantee you that you will get better quality and more variety. And, you will have the good feeling of knowing that you have helped preserve our fine American spirit.

Pesticides

I am issuing an alert to all gardeners. Try to avoid all pesticides. Grow pest resistant varieties of vegetables, fruits and ornamentals. If you have pests, try a non-chemical solution to the problem. There are two. One, keep an eye on your garden. If you see unwanted insects, pull them off by hand (wearing gloves, of course) and kill them. Or, put a high power nozzle on a hose a wash them off, then squash them. Also, realize that one or two bugs are not a problem; you just don't want an infestation.

Why the concern? Simple. Bees. As any gardener knows, bees are your friends. They are pollinators and darn near every plant you grow, needs pollination. An announcement was made the other day. We now have an endangered species of bees. This is a trend that has been going on for years. More and more bees are dying off, probably due to a combination of pesticides,, disease and loss of habitat.

I am not by nature an alarmist, but this is serious. Without bees, many crops will be difficult, if not impossible, to  grow. Food prices will skyrocket and famine will result, and not just in all those third world countries that you see on the news.

We must change our cultivation habits.

Time

Time is money. So goes the old saying and it is very true. That is why, whenever you think about doing a job yourself, take a moment to figure out how long it will take. I am all for do-it-yourself job, but you need to think first.

For example. Say you have a plumbing problem and you are sure that you can handle the job yourself. Think of the steps involved. Once you diagnose the problem, you have to go get parts. Okay, you head to the hardware store. If, like many, you go to Home Depot, plan on being there a while. I have seldom been there when they have short lines (I have stood in lines at 6 AM). Of course, you also have your travel time. And there is an issue if you need help from a store worker; they are all too often overwhelmed with customers.

Then, of course, you have the time you spend doing the work. Be honest. How good are you at plumbing. Most folks see a job and think, "how easy, no more than a few minutes and I'm done." Well, if you are good at it, true. If you have never done it before, maybe not so true. Now, you have to learn some way and you cannot learn of you don't try, but think about how pressed you are. If you have hours with nothing to do, great. If you are trying to get done in a few minutes so you can make your kid's soccer match, think twice, because if you are not familiar with the job, believe me, it will take more time than you think and the more you rush, the longer it will take.

As a rule of thumb, figure the cost of parts and then place a value on your time. How much is up to you. Let's make up a number, $15/hour, not an outrageous price. Suppose you allow two hours to drive to your store, pick out the parts and wait in line and get home. Then figure and hour to do the job. Now, if the parts come to $25 (remember, I'm just making up reasonable estimates), you are looking at $70. It is possible that you may find a licensed handyman service that will do the job for less (it is unlikely that you will get a real plumber for less) And, remember, I am assuming that the work goes as planned. You never know what unexpected difficulties may arise.

I do not want to discourage ant do-it-yourselfers. I am all for saving money by fixing things yourself, but I do believe it a good idea to make sure you are really saving money. Remember, time is money.