The Progressive Gardener - Getting Started by Kenneth Lafler

   Preparing  your  growing  area


                        by

                            Kenneth  Lafler





   When preparing  your  garden  , one  must  look  for an area  with full  sun most  of the day ,  good  drainage ,  water , and  a healthy soil  or loom.  Also  good ventilation is  important.  Your  garden  needs to be  in an area  with plenty of air  circulation for proper  growth.



  
     First  , clear  all  the  weeds  with a  rake to the bare soil and  continue  this for  about  a  week to get   the  seeds  left over from  cleaning the area .  If seeds are present  they  will take over  the  area  almost  immediately .  An anti weed  agent  can help  with this but these are  chemical products and not suited for  vegetables or any other consumable  trees or plants .


   For area's you want to be free of weeds   ,  place a  sheet of  black  poly-urethane sheeting   down  and cover  it  with rocks  or dirt  to  keep it from blowing  away  . This will eliminate  weed growth on the sides of your  growing  area  or  pathways .


   


    Then using  a  roto-tiller  or shovel  , dig down about  a foot  to two feet . This soil condition is called friable .   This  means  the  soil  has  aeration for the roots of your  vegetable  crop. 

    Eye  protection should  always be  worn when using  a  roto-tiller  or even a  lawn mower.  And  the  machine should be turned  completely off before  adjusting .



  After  this , the soil needs to be amended. This means  adding  organic material  , such as  compost , granular fertilizer's  and organic  matter .
I prefer  Kellogs  Grow  Mulch or  Nitro-Humus for  outdoors .  For  indoor  growing  a potting  mix  will be  needed for
drainage.



    Work  the soil  additives  in  for about  another  week  and continue  working on the quality  of  the soil  through  the life  cycle of the  plant .


    At  the  same  time , hot beds  should be  constructed  to get  an early start  on the  growing season.   These are container's with a  controlled environment to keep the seedlings warm .



  



      Fruit  and  vegetable  crate's work well for this . Just place  a  clear  sheet of Poly-urethane plastic  over the  box after  filling it with Grow-Mulch , or the soil of your choice.

  When  growing indoors  ,  drainage is even more important. Without  proper drainage  , the  water can stagnate  in the bottom of the pot  and  destroy  the  root system .



  Liquid  growth product's must also be used for  healthy  plants and  vegetables . A  good  non-organic  fertilizer  is  Miracle  Grow  .  There are also organic  fertilizer's  on the market but they are slower acting  than chemical product's .

  The  thing to remember is , the more care you give your  garden  , the  more returns you will recieve from it .


                  by

                              Kenneth  Lafler

The Great Lake's Triangle by Kenneth Lafler

   

  
     The Burmuda Triangle has been known  for centuries as an area with unusual behavior and unexplained disappearances. Even Christopher Columbus reported strange activity while crossing through the  Bermuda triangle.  Ships and planes have been disappearing for as long as people have inhabited the area.

  Even the United States  nuclear submarine Scorpion was lost in the Bermuda Triangle.

     

    But there is an area in the United  States  with far more strange disappearances than the Bermuda Triangle off the Florida coast . These  are  the  great  lakes. Particularly Lake Superior.

  
    Located on the border of  Canada, the Lake's are  Huron, Superior, Erie, Ontario and  Lake  Michigan.  This has  been a hub for shipping for centuries.

  But  as long  as  mankind has been sailing in these  water's, there has been a  history of  unexplained  disappearances. Far more than in the Bermuda Triangle.


    

One of  the  Strangest  Disappearance's  was that of the Edmund  Fitzgerald. The  Fitzgerald  was  a  ship designed for carrying  iron ore  and when completed  in 1957, she  was  the  largest  ship of her class.

    
In November 1975, the Edmund  Fitzgerald  was sailing in  tandem with the ore  carrier, the Arthur M. Anderson and was within radio and visual contact  the  entire  time, except  for ten minutes when the Anderson's radar went down.
  
    When the  system came back online,  the  Fitzgerald  was  gone.

     The Fitzgerald  was located  several days  later  near  an area  called  White  Fish  Bay. But upon examination the ship had  seemed  to  have gone down so quickly, none of the life boat's were prepared for launching.

  
  
 The phenomena seems to have to do with what is called the "Agonic Line" which is a part of the Earth's electromagnetic field . This is the area of the Earth where true north and magnetic north are exactly the same. This can completely disrupt the ships guidance system's. 

   The Agonic Line also extendeds into the Bermuda Triangle.

  

  
    The  local Native  American  population near  the  Great  Lake's  have  always  had  stories  of giant  waves  that  appeared suddenly  and  are  capable of  destroying  even relatively large  ships.

    Oceanographer's  call this  a  Seiche  Wave.  They  sometimes  are referred to as  "Rouge  Waves ".

  This  is the result of what is called  Positive  and Negative  interference.  This is  when two  opposing  waves  or currents  collide.

    
   
     The positive and negative  waves intersecting can cause the water level to rise to tremendous heights. Sometimes as high as 100 feet

   

      Passenger Planes have also gone down under mysterious circumstances. A pilot flying a commercial  passenger jet literally drove the plane straight into the lake  with no distress call even going to the tower.

   

    The strange thing is, one is rarely out of visual contact with either other ships or land. A ship or plane is almost always near by.

      But the Fitzgerald went down so suddenly, no may day signal went out and the hatches had not even been closed with the accident happening so quickly.



  


     Rouge waves at one time were thought to be a myth. But with new camera technology sailors began capturing footage of these waves finally verifying thier existence. 



   


       Even with today's technology, rouge waves are still extremely dangerous due to the fact that they appear without warning and are  extremely unpredictable unlike a Tsunami in which there is advanced warning of the impending wave.

    Even today, ships still disappear without warning on the Great Lakes.

   By
             Kenneth Lafler

  

Tornado's - By Kenneth Lafler

                           The Dynamics of circular air funnels 

                  

       The  Winds from a Tornado  are the  most  devastating  storms  
 on this planet. They are also the least understood.  Scientists are still trying to decipher just how these storms are formed. Using wind tunnels and other scientific devises, Meteorologists are  still puzzled by this phenomena of nature. 








       Starting with the colder air in the  Arctic colliding with the  warmer  air  from the Gulf of  Mexico , these  storms  are  the most  violent weather conditions  to  develop  with  wind speed's  exceeding 200 miles  an hour. It is not unusual to have several Tornado's form in a single day.   Nor is it unusual to have several funnel cloud's in the same Tornado in a localized situation.  Multiple vortex's may form from the same storm.




 
    Tornado's are classified from EF1 to EF5 on the Fujitsu Scale which was developed in Japan.  EF1 being the least intense and  EF5 being the most intense and destructive winds. Vortex sound generation is another part of the the Tornado's effects. People caught in these storms describe the sound as that of a jet engine with a high pitch sound similar to a plane at lift off. 





     

  Tornado's mostly occur in the United  States.  Spain has experienced this weather phenomena but it is rare.  The Central  United States is the most prone area to Tornatic activity . This  area  is called Tornado Alley.  It is located through Texas, Oklahoma and further north even into Ohio. 




  













     Ohio  has had several  devastating  tornado's. The  Zennia  Ohio  Twister  was one of the  worst on record.  This Tornado caused massive destruction to homes and businesses. The death toll from the storm was about 350 people. Mobile Home parks seemed to take the brunt of the winds.

  Water spouts are another aspect of the tornado's activity. These are Tornado's formed over water, usually in the ocean . Water spouts do not have the intensity of Tornado's over land, but still pose the potential to be destructive to ships and small boat's. These storms are much smaller due to the fact that they are not over land, so the up draft is not as strong.  Being over water there is no debris hazard due to the fact that the water spout only picks up water. They usually die out when they hit land, losing most of their energy.

      There are other area's of the United States that  experience this type weather  Phenomena,  California  has  quite  a  few  tornado's, just not  on the  scale of Tornado's in the central and eastern part of the country.  The Lake  Elsinore   area is  prone to this type of  weather pattern and is considered  Southern California's Tornado  Alley. 





   Tornado's  prefer  flat , level  area's to travel through and usually follow the path of least resistance.  If they strike an Urban center the damage can be unbelievable.  If caught in the open when a Tornado strikes one should  look for the lowest possible area such as a trench to ride out the storm.  Do not seek refuge under tree's, they can attract lightening, acting as a lightening rod.

   Scientist's still are not sure exactly how the cyclonic winds of a Tornado  function.





      Some meteorologists feel it is due to the earth's  rotation while  others  feel it  is some  type of  phenomena  inside the storm it's self. There are reports of tornado's reaching speeds of up to 500 miles an hour. These storms are called ''Hypercanes'', but are very rare.  Hypercane's are also associated with Hurricane's. 





  
     








      Tornado's  are  usually associated with  thunder  storm's and hale.  This  seems to be part of  how a  tornado is  formed. The cold northern air collides with the warmer southern air creating a circular motion in the atmosphere. Tornado's may also be associated with wild fire's.  The vortex may actually lift the fire into the spinning winds. This is called a fire storm and can be an extremely dangerous situation to be in. These winds are capable of moving very quickly with little chance of escape. Many fire fighters have lost their live's to fire storm's. The tragedy of this is most of these fire's are intentionally set. 





     Tornado's are capable of moving very quickly, and are able to jump several miles before landing again. One should never try to view these storms. Anyone in the path of a Tornado should seek shelter immediately .






    There have been several cases where the victim was viewing the storm from a distance and suddenly were trapped when the Tornado landed just yards from them.













 

















There  are  cases of  people  being  caught in a  
tornado and never seen again. Houses in many cases  are simply ripped apart. Mobile homes for some reason seem to be quite vulnerable to these storms. These homes may be carried for some distance by these winds.  



      Tornado's  will always  be  with us.  It's just a  question of how to manage  this  emergency  situation properly. One should always be prepared to evacuate immediately in the event of a tornado warning.

  














  
     At home, an emergency kit should be on hand at all times . This includes food, water, personal hygiene, a basic set of tools, and a supply of essential  medicine . 






    Camping gear and supplies are a good idea due to the fact they may be stored for quite a while.

  By   

              Kenneth  Lafler