Asa Boxer

Tereza Okava wrote:This is something that only occurred to me hours later, since it isn't a problem in my region, but I used to live in a place where it can be.
Arsenic contamination/accumulation tends to happen with rice. Research has shown that rinsing can remove some, although cooking rice in lots of water like pasta, as mentioned upthread, removes more.

I've read the same thing, and so I've been washing and boiling in lots of water, but I'm skeptical of the efficacy of the practice. I figure I'm either washing out a whole lot of stuff and not just arsenic, or I'm just washing out a measure of starch. The arsenic is not a surface contamination, it's taken up naturally in the growing process and if I've understood correctly, it's in the cells of the rice.

Knowing what we know about processing plants, it would be wise to rinse the rice in any case. No idea what it's been dusted with in its long journey to your cupboard.

According to Robert Kourik in his book Roots Demystified, air pruning is the next best thing to seeding in place (for which there is no substitute). The research comes from the logging industry seeking the most effective and efficient way to replant deforested areas. The best method, according to Kourik (and based on methods established in the 1980s) is a tube with ribbed edges to direct roots down and prevent root circling, including some holes at the base for air pruning. The best tube will also allow for easy removal of the tree seedling. Kourik's book is from 2008, and he complains that finding tube-grown seedlings is difficult. The next best approach, he suggests, is small seedlings in pots--the smaller, the better. Other sources have suggested that anything over 1 year old grown in a pot will be root bound. Moreover, staking is generally a bad idea; better to use nurse shrubs as windbreaks. The wind helps trees root in a healthy manner. If staking is required, best to use one stake on the windy side, screw in an eye screw to the sapling with one string tied to the stake.

I'm in southern Ontario and I used to have a place in the Laurentians Quebec, so that's hardiness zones 4a and 5a. In these cool environments, raspberries flourish in countryside roadside ditches in full sun, wild with no spacing, just a gorgeous mess full of bees. 4a does better than 5a, just to give you a sense.

Hi Amy. I just get sleepy, feel kinda drugged. No other symptoms. Judging by my cat, it's a thing. Also have searched online and found nothing. I do find that if I keep physically active, the feeling kinda goes away.