Blueberries and Health: Now Weight Reduction

Blueberries are ripening. The season is just getting underway, so peak will likely be in another week or so. It's a good time to get them. The price is a lot lower than trying to purchase them at other times of the year.

Blueberries are tasty food. The berries are packed full of a lot of good vitamins. Some of the latest research from the University of Michigan also claims they might pack a good punch for weight loss. Eat blueberries and say goodbye to belly fat.

Tests with rats indicate that blueberry consumption reduces abdominal fat and reduces cholesterol and “improved glucose control and insulin sensitivity”. Researches said more information and studies are being conducted but so far it looks like weight reduction can be added to the healthy benefits of eating North America's native blueberries.

Blueberries are very high in antioxidants. They are good for overall health and well being, particularly for the heart and certain cancers. Some research also indicates that a cup of blueberries every day is good for different motor skills.

As noted in the previous post, late blight may be a real problem for home gardeners this year. The time to take action is now. Stake the plants, add mulch and get on a spraying program. There is compost tea, and a spray which can be made from baking soda. To a gallon of water add 1 tablespoon of baking soda, a few drops of liquid dish detergent and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. (Don't even think of using motor oil.). Plants need to be sprayed several times a week with either spray. Commercial sprays are also available but be sure to read and follow the directions.

Late blight is deadly and highly contagious. Monitor the tomatoes every day if possible. If you see blackened leaves, lesions, trash the plant. Burn it, never compost it; the spores can and will spread. The plant is a goner one way or the other. The late blight will kill the plant within a couple of days.

Blogs I like to read, check them out too:

On Your Way to the Top

New York's Southern TierUrban Veggie Garden

A Ten Point Moon and Grass Clippings

Tuesday, July 7th, is the Full Moon called the Full Buck Moon or the Thunder Moon. The moon is called the Full Buck Moon since this is the time of the year when the bucks begin to grow their antlers. Just a quick note, there are only 77 days till the first day of autumn (groan or sigh). At this time of year the deer have a reddish-brown coat which is actually pretty.

Here I am seeing plenty of deer, maybe some big bucks. But I have heard others say the opposite.

This is also the time of the year when grass cutting becomes a weekly chore (if the rain would stop). Depending on the size of the yard and the frequency of mowing, that can be a lot of grass, which actually is a high value fertilizer.

Grass clippings, basically free, are filled with benefits. They are excellent to leave on the lawn instead of raking and bagging, the clippings can be used as a good mulch, and can be used in the compost pile to make an superb compost.

There are a couple tricks to using grass clippings, rich in nitrogen, in the compost bin. Brown material, such as leaves saved from last autumn, need to be mixed into the pile. Other brown material (carbon or “dead stuff”) can be used as well.

Grass clippings because of their high moisture content, need to be turned over frequently, otherwise the grass clippings tend to compact and can emit a strong smell. Another option is to include hedge trimmings to allow air or oxygen into the pile to preventing the matting. Adding some lime will help to kick start the decaying process as well as a few springs of the herb yarrow (white flowers pictured above).

Blogs I am following, all informative and god reading:

New York Southern Tier

On Your Way to the Top

Urban Veggie Garden

Cornplanter and the Lemon Queen Sunflower

The sunflowers, Lemon Queen, are growing by leaps and bounds, along the the fence with the pole beans. There are about two dozen, germination was good and animals didn't devour them. The plants are basically about eight inches tall. The seeds were from the Great Sunflower Project.

The seeds were free but I do have to record data on the number of bees which visit the flowers once they bloom. There are about 65,000 people across North America involved in the project. An email update (a newsletter sort of thing) from the project I received said that even though the sunflowers were blooming in San Fransisco, no bees were reported, at least in one yard. Based on some experience, I don't expect these to bloom until August.

The newsletter said the yard was just dirt and needed to be restored and planted in native flowers and a few vegetables. I would be pretty sure someone is going to mention compost.

Bees are a little hard to find but I am seeing them especially on the herb, borage. The reseeding annual is blooming all over the place. I am seeing both bumblebees and honeybees as well as some other flying insects. I also have some sage blooming which is attracting quite a few bees. All this activity is good since both peppers and tomatoes are now blooming. Pictured are buckets of compost to be used for a side dressing.

Last week's email for this blog also included some interest in Chief Cornplanter, a Native American leader from the American Revolutionary time period. (Note to Tony: You really think there is a resemblance?).

The Cornplanter story is a fascinating one and a look back story which I think I'll begin to post. The story has something of a modern day twist with the construction of the Kinzua Dam in Pennsylvania and in the nearby Southern Tier area. (Kathleen Richardson). It also background for some of the unrest on the Reservation today.

Blogs I am following:

1.Southern Tier
2.On Your Way to the Top That was a nice looking pig!
3.Urban Veggie Garden.