Starting over.

Howdy cats n' kittens!

As you know, the 'organic' potting soil I bought to start my seedling project sucked ass & I'm having to start again.  A friend who works at a marijuana dispensary is going to give me a bag of soil that sells for $16 a bag to try.  He guarantees my plants will thrive & I believe him.  Since pot growers pay top dollar for seed, they probably know better than anyone what works & what doesn't.  No, I'm not going to grow pot.  I'm legal to do so in CA, but where there's pot growing there's trouble & I don't need any trouble.

One of the snail flower vines finally sprouted.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the others.

The melons are sprouting.  Orangelo watermelon, golden midget, Sakata's sweet, Old Time Tennessee & Burrell's Jumbo are all making an appearance.  They won't be ready to sell for another few weeks, though.


The tomatoes are struggling.  My Gold Medal all died in the crappy soil.  It's a little early for them yet anyway.  They'd be further along if I had a cold frame & better dirt.  Live and learn.


The pole beans are doing the best of all the seedlings.  The purple pole beans & the blue lake pole beans are already 6" high.  Not all of them germinated though, so these ones will be kept for breeding.


One of the rare Pink Feathers Morning Glories sprouted.  I'm really excited about it.  Can't wait to see what they look like in real life.  I'm hoping they'll stop traffic & bring in customers.  


My new honeybees have settled in. I put on the full beekeeper getup for the first time & took a peak inside the hive to make sure they're doing okay. Lots of eggs, nectar, honey & comb.  They're doing better than expected.  I won't remove any honey until the end of next year's bee season, though.


Peace!

Nobody reads my blog.

I was encouraged to start this blog because I send too many emails to people about what's going on in the world.  I've had success on Twitter & Facebook, but no one reads my blog. 

Growing organic, heirloom/rare seedlings in my backyard has proven much more difficult than I had anticipated.  Dirt + seed + water = plant?  Sometimes.  Some of the more exotic plants haven't germinated yet & I fear the seeds are duds. Driving rain killed my Sensitive Plants. Too much rain killed the eggplant & tomato seedlings. Snails ate at least 30% of what sprouted despite attempts to stop them.  I even found a plant dug out & eaten by squirrels.  Last year, it was armies of earwigs. 

What hasn't been drowned or eaten by varmints is almost ready for my first sale.  I'm aiming for April 23rd, a week after I get my bees & a day before Easter.  Be there or be square!

- Nanda -

Monsanto Webcast of Global Strategy Presentation 2/9 at 2:30pm ET

Monsanto Company will hold a webcast next Wednesday in conjunction with a presentation by Kerry Preete, senior vice president – global strategy, at the Goldman Sachs. Preete's presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m. E.T. Feb. 9.

News Releases

Monsanto's Kerry Preete to Address Investors at Goldman Sachs Agricultural Biotech Forum

Feb 3, 2011
10:00am

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) will hold a webcast next Wednesday in conjunction with a presentation by Kerry Preete, senior vice president – global strategy, at the Goldman Sachs Agricultural Biotech Forum.  Preete's presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m. E.T. Feb. 9.
Preete will discuss the company's business performance and operational path, financial targets and other matters related to the business.

Slides and a simultaneous audio webcast will be available for the presentation by visiting the investor section of Monsanto's web site at www.monsanto.com/investors.  Following the live broadcast, a replay of the webcast will be available on the Monsanto web site for three weeks.

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com .  Follow our business on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows at www.monsantoblog.com, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

CONTACT	Media:     Kelli Powers (314-694-4003)

SOURCE Monsanto Company

For further information: Kelli Powers, +1-314-694-4003, for Monsanto Company