Wal-Mart and you can make a difference

After having viewed the movie Food Inc there is one conclusion which is hard to overlook, purchasing from Wal-Mart is a way to invoke change in our food supply. I know this is a conclusion difficult to accept, especially to those who believe in organic, chemical free foods or those who believe Wal-Mart is evil.

Food Inc, shows how we as consumers can make a change in our food supply. A prime example is milk produced without rBST. When the world’s largest retailer begins to market milk without rBST it’s hard not to notice. Wal-Mart can single handed change the course of the food supply but they can only do it if we vote with our dollars and purchase rBST free milk from Wal-Mart.

When other retailers see the direction Wal-Mart has taken they have no choice but to follow suite. It won’t be long when all milk sold is free from rBST because the Wal-Mart has given us what we ask for, affordable chemical free milk.

Another example is Wal-Mart’s choice to sell Stoneyfield organic yogurt. Again, we must support Wal-Mart in order to bring about change in our food supply.

Don’t get me wrong. Wal-Mart is not doing this to be nice. They are here to make money and lots of it by giving us what we demand, more affordable organic food choices.

Hard to believe, but you can make a difference by buying from Wal-Mart. Sometimes common goals make interesting bedfellows.

Can you trust your dentist?

Never have been excited about visiting a dentist but since we have a decent dental plan through work I go about twice a year for routine visits.

Recently my dentist recommended I have a Full Mouth Debridement or FMD for short. I was told it would cost me $85 for the FMD. I am leery of dentists who always seem to find something to do inside your mouth as a way to get inside your wallet.

When I go to my dentist I just can’t seem to get out of there without being told I need this or that and it will cost this amount. It feels like I am being hustled at a traveling carnival.

My standard reply is let’s keep an eye on it and see what it looks like in 6 months.

For the FMD I called my dental plan to learn why it was costing me $85 when my plan states they pay the full amount. The customer support representative gave me an excellent tip. Ask the dentist what value am I receiving for $85?

Upon asking the dentist staff this question they stated the FMD is covered under my plan but the antimicrobial rinse is $85. At this point I am thinking to myself, $85 for “Listerine” mouth wash. I smell a fish.

I ask them what are the ingredients of this antimicrobial rinse? They respond by stating I do not have to purchase the rinse if I do not want it. Now I’m thinking is this a scam or what? All along I was lead to believe the $85 was for the FMD. Upon closer questioning, the truth comes out. It’s only for the rinse since my dental plan pays for the FMD. This rinse is not something I take home afterwards. It is only used to rinse my mouth during the FMD.

Today I had my FMD minus the $85 antimicrobial rinse. Took along my own $2 travel bottle of Listerine which “Kills Germs by Millions on Contact”. Afterwards, I proceeded to rinse in the parking lot. Does anyone know if Listerine will harm trees?

Is this a scam? You decide.

Why Google Chrome is NOW Green!

If you followed my last blog on this subject (http://justforducks.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-google-chrome-is-not-green.html)

I was not going to use Google Chrome until a special feature was activated. I liked everything about Chrome except it was lacking in this one feature.

I rely on being able to visit a website and print only the selection of the information I am seeking. Printing the whole webpage when I only need some of the information is a complete waste of paper.

Today I checked in with Google Chrome to see if any changes had been made and sure enough the feature I had been waiting for is now available. I can now highlight the information I need from a website, hit print selection and I get what I need without wasting paper.

I have imported my bookmarks from IE 8 and set Chrome as my default browser.

Adios Microsoft, Hola Chrome!

The taste was terrible

Just want to report on the taste of the giant watermelons. As you can see, they were anemic looking and tasted as bad as they looked.

We are now looking forward to next Spring when we shall try again.

Santa Barbara hole in the wall has great food

Recently spent a weekend in Santa Barbara, Calif. Ate at a hole in the wall Mexican bakery which also serves real homemade Mexican foods. Enjoyed the large taco plate. Delicious.

If you ever happen to be in Santa Barbara go to 832 N. Milpas St. Drive to the back of the parking lot. Look for a small shop named La Tapatia Bakery. Enjoy the hospitality and food served by the Vela Family.

Harvest Day for the 200 lb watermelon project

Today is day 111. It’s weigh-in day. The watermelons stopped growing several weeks ago so I stopped watering them last week. I read somewhere it helps to sweeten the melons up if you stop watering them just before harvest.

Let me summarize this project before we get into the weigh-in. This was my first year of planting a serious garden. Everything was in the ground by April. We had tomatoes, zucchini, green cucumbers, lemon cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, beets, onions, blackberry, raspberry, sun flowers, cayenne peppers, chayote, crook neck squash, corn, garlic and radish. I was feeling pretty good that we were going to have a great garden.

In late April as I was browsing the seed rack at Wal-Mart, there in front of me was a packet of Burpee Carolina Cross #183 Watermelon seeds. On the package beneath the picture of a giant watermelon it said “Gigantic Fruits – up to 200lbs.”. It took me a split second to decide, “I can do that”.

If you read my previous postings, you’ll see that it is not easy to grow large healthy fruits and vegetables.

Fast forward to today. After losing two of the five watermelons to BER we were down to three. Last week I harvested the smallest of the three remaining melons. It weighted 11.4 lbs and was marginally sweet. The seeds were large, about six times larger than a normal watermelon seed and white instead of black.

Today I weighed the largest melon from this project. It was an eye popping 17.6 pounds. Yes, my genetically capable 200 lb watermelon was a tiny 17.6 lbs. It was an eye popper because your eyes popped out straining to see such a tiny watermelon. I wish I could say it was 176 pounds like the picture seems to show but it's not. Look careful to view the decimal point. What a disappointment. It was nowhere near my goal of growing a 200 lb watermelon. What went wrong? Everything. I started late. I over watered. I over fertilized. I didn’t check the ph of the soil. I used the wrong type of soil.

I would not say I failed, only that I learned a lot of what not to do. I am already making plans for next Spring to try again.

I need to chill the melons down before we eat them so I can’t tell you today if they were sweet or not. Next week I’ll post the sweetness factor.

Day 90 – Sad to report BER

Sad to report 2 of the 5 watermelons have succumbed to BER (blossom end rot). This is new to me. Apparently due to a possible lack of calcium in the soil the watermelon begins to rot from the blossom end. Shows up as a brown spot which becomes larger as the rot spreads.

That leaves 3 watermelons which still appear to be healthy. They have slowed down in growing larger. WP3 is about 15 – 20 lbs which is only a small fraction of what it should be after 90 days. Here in the Sacramento Valley we still have warm days all of September and most of October. The nights begin to chill down and the daylight is definitely much shorter.

I now appreciate farmers more. It is not just plant and water. You need the proper type of soil, soil ph, water amounts, fertilizer, bug repellant, daylight and on and on.

I have plans for next year to start earlier and make it more of a scientific process.

What is the largest vegetable or fruit you have grown?