Lydia Feltman

jeff Swart wrote:.....

While surfing the interwebs I came across a very informative site - Mold Help For You. The site is provided by a Certified Mold Inspector from the International Association of Certified Mold Inspectors...
| Mold Help For You - https://moldhelpforyou.com/shower-mold/
Hope this helps

thanks Jeff. I continued looking on this site and found what the author recommends here:  https://moldhelpforyou.com/ec3-mold-solution/  
Interesting that it is mainly composed of Citrus seed extracts and does not only kill mold, but also the myco toxins that could remain or develop, Myco toxins are the danger in mold and it's removal.
The author reviews all the other substances that have been used for mold, their pros and cons.

I read once long ago that bleach will not actually kill mold. It only whitens the stain and may leave a residue that the mold can grow on (as does soap) Hydrogen peroxide will kill mold, but you may need to get something stronger than regular 3 %. I have been using 35% greatly diluted to 6% for many things, but I just discovered that on Amazon there are many brands of 12% H2O2. This would be a lot safer and easier to use than 35%. You might be able to find it in a hardware or home goods store.  The bottle should tell you how to dilute it , if necessary, for what ever use you need. Of course you have to keep the area dry. You can also buy de-humidifier buckets.

Do you have gophers? Gophers have been the main way comfrey has spread all over my yard. It is one of their favorite foods and they will store it in their burrows for later. I once dug up a gopher den where one had made a pantry of cut roots stacked up like logs. I planted these 1 1/2 inch pieces in my green house and they sprouted comfrey and horseradish. Now I keep comfrey in large pots.

Easiest vegetable to grow in my climate is the kale family, especially Lacinato (dino) kale. It doesn't bolt as quickly as other types, and grows well in large containers or the ground. The trunks can get very large and I just keep picking off the lower leaves. Also Portuguese Kale, which is really a type of Collard similar to Georgia Collard, but with even larger leaves. My Georgia had yellow flowers like most kales, whereas the Portuguese Kale had white flowers. This plant became perennial and green most of the year, even in the mild frosts that we have here, in N. California coast inland valley.

This year I decided to not prune my tomatoes, as i have done before, because it gets so hot here in the summer, I thought the plants would do better with the shade of their own leaves. So far I got a few, 1 per day of large tomatoes from 3 plants, then the temp really heated up (over 100) and all production slowed down. I have heard that plants stop growing when the temp is over 90. I used to always pick off the suckers, but this creates spindly plants. Too much sun on the fruit will burn them. The leaves love sun, but the fruit seems to do better if it's shaded.

Also it gets down in the 50's at night so it takes a long time to ripen on the vine. I pick them when they are starting to color and let them ripen on the counter. I think a cover of some sort, as the tunnel in the pictures, would make them ripen much faster outdoors. They did much better in a small greenhouse I used to have in Petaluma (more coastal). I'm in inland Mendocino county now.

When I know a frost is threatening, (usually October) I bring all the tomatoes in and wrap each one in newspaper and keep them in a box where they slowly ripen. The newspaper or towel keeps them from contaminating each other if any start to mold. Sounds like a good idea to put a banana in with them, although it would need to be changed every few days.
~Lydia

 Zucchini or Gourgette are in the genus Cucurbita and species pepo. They are insect pollinated as are all plants in the Cucurbitaceae family. Generally these plants will cross only with others in the same species. The species C. pepo includes, besides zucchini: some pumpkins, acorn, crookneck, scallop, spaghetti, and the small striped and warted gourds (the decorative gourds found in stores around Thanksgiving here in the U.S.) I'll bet the zuchinni in the story had genes from this type of "gourd", or similar, which is not edible, although I have not heard of it being poisonous.
Susan Ashworth in her book "Seed to Seed" recommends that any Cucurbits grown for seed should be 1/2 mile from any other in the same species. I have saved seeds from"Bennings Green Tint" Paddy Pans (my favorite) for many years now. Also saved one of each of the moschata and maxima species, each year different ones, but all Winter squash. Fortunately no one within 1/2 mile grew any other squash or pumpkins.
 A guy I know grew what he hoped would be a giant pumpkin from home grown seed someone had given him, in a mound of composted horse manure. It was a giant all right, but not a prize winner, as it was green and elongated, probably a cross with a Hubbard, which is also C.pepo.  C. pepo squash are one of the most difficult for saving seeds, because there are so many extreme differences among them.
 BTW; Cucumbers are Cucumis sativus, not even in the same genus as squash, and will not cross with them.
 I highly recommend Susan Ashworth's book, if you are interested in saving seeds.

Thanks Greg. That would be great. I have trepidation about using pics. from online searches that are too close to the original and someone may object in the future.
I'm glad to give credit to the amazing photographs that are now possible with technology and the patience and art of the photographer.
~Lydia

Thanks, Greg. I am glad to find out some milkweeds are edible. Showy milkweed is native here in N. Calif. and I have started growing it. I thought that they are all poisonous as the caterpillars and butterflies are poisonous to birds because that is all they eat when larva. I'll look up that link.
Your pictures are beautiful. Would you allow parts of them to be used as models for my pencil drawings of Monarchs and Ladybugs in a comic book I'm making?
~Lydia

Mick Fisch wrote:

Could we broaden the base to include fiction books?  I am a fan of an old sci fi classic book "The Earth Abides".  (it would make a great movie, maybe someone in hollyweird will discover it).  A disease wipes out about 99.99% of the people within a couple of weeks.  Most of the rest don't survive the aftermath.  None of the few survivors is sure about anything about it's origin or anything.  The main character tries to pass on the knowledge he has, but most of it simply doesn't seem to apply to the new world his groups children find themselves in, so it dies through neglect and they end up hunter/gatherers.  

Yes this is a classic. Most all humanity is wiped out leaving the animals and all the stuff. Even SF bay area still has elec. because of Hetch Hechy hydro power. However, the '40s time period does not take into account nuclear meltdown possibilities.

I hope the next Apple Pole is for TEOTWAWKI books. i've read several recently concerning CME or EMP devastation of the elec. grid, now a more likely scenario, which Permies and Prepers can learn something from, while being entertained (and scared).

Do you know about Seed Savers Exchange? Their free catalog for the general public has several pages of cucumbers that are heirloom, non -hybred and can be saved for future plantings. If you join the Exchange you can have access to the printed and online "Yearbook' that compiles listings of members seeds that are available for as little as $4. In the printed version there are 8 pages (184 varieties) of cucumbers. Go to www.seedsavers.org to find both the public online (or printed by request) catalog and membership information.
I have listed with them for a number of years. I  ordered the "Thesaloniki" tomato from one of the members, and he also sent me free samples of other tomatoes. What a great group of people with a high ideal of sustainability through co-operation.
I loved the cucumbers I grew from Seeds of Change "Satsuki Midori" a Japanese cucumber that was never bitter. Last year I tried to find it again, but that company was not offering it any more. I did find it online and grew it again last year. Eventually I may have enough seeds to share with others on the Exchange, but I have to test them to see if the seeds are viable and come true. Cucurbits like melon, squash, and cucumber variety seeds are more difficult to save as they will inter-pollinate.
Good luck with your quest, ~Lydia