News suggests data center processors don’t need the extent of cooling ordinarily used. Who says so? Nvidia.

Damn. ICE starts infesting and now those algae flinging terrorists have also shown up in Seattle! When will it end?

Socialism for farmers is really bad energy policy for taxpayers. www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/c...

I’ve never been any good at growing in dirt. Was always a mystery why the plants died. Shouldn’t have skipped Botany classes back at the U. Hydroponics got me started and gradually getting into soil analysis and rational watering. Now know how long it takes for urine -> nitrate in my soil. Progress.

Trump Approves Toxic Cancer-Linked Forever Chemical Pesticides On Major Food Crops Never Before Used In America New herbicides approved for major US crops amid health concerns and legal battles. www.ibtimes.co.uk/epa-approves...

Europe's record-breaking heatwave and lingering "heat dome" are causing severe crop failures and reduced agricultural yields across the continent France (Europe's leading potato exporter) facing yield losses estimated at 20% due to heat stress and Spain too www.potatonewstoday.com/2026/06/27/e...

Seed sources are all around us. Bought an organic red pepper. Enjoyed it for dinner and placed some of the seeds on cotton to sprout. About 50% viability. Not bad. After this stage it will graduate to the Dutch bucket setup to fully mature. Last year’s bell pepper didn’t over winter as hoped.

Why I avoid use of most hydroponic sponges. Unearthed this beauty from the garden that was from a hydroponic start transferred to the garden last year. Zero breakdown and the plant didn’t make it. Some of these things are biodegradable and some, obviously, are not.

Lettuce sprouted on cotton and then floated on nutrient is now big enough to separate and transfer to next stage.

Ok. Squirrels in the neighborhood are: 1. Lazy as all hell 2. Completely clueless as to how burying their booty should be done 3. Offering a trade for the strawberries eaten 4. Messing with me 5. None of the above

A study from the University of Tokyo shows that changing the color of agricultural netting to red can cut pesticide use by 25% to 50%. Researchers discovered that red netting works as a highly effective "optical defense. #GoodNews #Farming #NaturalPesticides credit mech.eng.world IG

The reason to not elect billionaires to public office is because they don’t live among us and don’t share our struggles. Food availability, energy costs, housing, these are not issues for them nor ones they can relate to. Vanity projects and legacy marks are more important for them. We annoy them.

When I buy produce I might harvest seeds from (yes, it can be a legit source) I try to make sure it came from an heirloom plant. Or at least a local organic grower. Bayer/Monsanto seeds, likely found in grocery store, are single use, no legal seed harvesting. Weird times.

With Fox buying Roku, probably want to turn off the content spying that is most likely turned on and active if your tv is a Roku set. It was all activated in our tv. And now off.

Touch the water and you get arrested. But this idiot driving on it is fine? Expect all those vandalism cases to be immediately tossed. This is just the Red Queen painting the roses red. Need to find a way to get out of this rabbit hole we’ve fallen into. These creatures are all mad.

Multiple Texas Farms Shut Down After 'Almost 100%' Of Workforce Vanishes Overnight. In a stunningly swift overnight change, some Texas farm operations had to shut down after losing virtually all of their workforce, an exodus triggered by the increase in immigration raids and increased enforcement.

Dinner

Biggest, fussiest baby in the yard! “I didn’t get enough! Where’s the Nitrogen? How does a pile get a drink around here? Pieces too big! Cut ‘em up for me! Now I’m smothered, give me some air!! When’s it gonna be my turn?” Jeez. Give it nitrogen and it smells like it pooped it’s diaper! I can’t.

Fed $ spent on UFC fights, pond painting, bombing and bribing foreign countries does nothing to help farmers deal. Need more research and fed services. And better fed administrators.

Harvested some seeds from the Black Seed Simpson lettuce that started hydroponically in the basement and then transferred to garden when it started to bolt. Romaine seeds won’t be too far behind. Getting ready for the fall rotation. #VegtableGardening

Before, I’ve never been ashamed to be an American. At times, I’ve been apologetic. I’ve been disappointed. But never ashamed, until now. That spectacle at the White House was over the line. There needs to be atonement for that depravity. The greatest nation in the world should set a better example.

More proof of failure to achieve a hot compost pile: volunteer potatoes. Fitting consolation prize for yet another composting failure. Look pretty proud of themselves, don’t they? The earlier volunteer arugula liked it, too.

Lots of ways to start a variety of seeds without soil. Many are happy to begin life on moistened cotton balls and then graduate to floating on the surface of hydroponic solution. Here, using squared off pool noodle slices to float. Cheap and readily available this time of year.

Took the morning’s strawberry harvest and waved it under the blueberry’s nose. Told it the gauntlet has been thrown. This is the minimal expectation. If they wanna see another ration of ammonium sulfate next season they’re gonna have to earn it. Not playing.

Looking at an upcoming forecast of 96 F, lettuce in the yard will likely bolt. During summer in Seattle, I usually grow lettuce hydroponically in the basement to keep them from going straight to seed. Innovations are needed to deal with the global warming that is denied by current admin.

Trump tries to claim that war induced price increases will fall rapidly one the conflict is resolved. This article describes the reality of what happens. Catchy - rocket-feather.

Sage is blooming. Means I missed my shot to collect leaves and also makes it a work day for these guys and the hummingbirds. Neither think I have any say in the matter. Honestly, I just work here. They think they give the orders. #VegetableGardening

Grapes are a great garden choice. Hardy and prolific. At Chateau Taillefer in Pomerol they told us they aren’t allowed to irrigate the vines that they use to make $40+/bottle wine! Our seedless grapes do fine and make great raisins in our 9a region #VegetableGardening

Get the most out of what you buy. Nothing from garden right now so bought lettuce. Cut the top off for salad and put the crown in a net cup to root. Severely stressed, so resulting plant usually goes to seed. Those may contribute to fall lettuce crop. #VegetableGardening

Early June in Seattle and Marzanos are ripening. Seeds sprouted inside tomatoes brought in last fall. Plants over wintered in basement until outside evening temps at least 50 F. Never had that happen before. Strange times. #VegetableGardening

As impressive as the tech was on Clarkson’s farm season 5, this article brings the conversation back to include the topic of soil health.

The admin smiley faces keep telling us the economy is booming. The retailers would like to have a word.

Went away for 2 weeks. Cabbage butterfly found a kale plant, compost pile dried out, cooled down and the ants moved in. There are half eaten strawberries all over the ground, courtesy of the bushy tailed garden terrorist. The rabbits look disappointed that I returned. Bean seeds didn’t grow. Ugh!

The Romans had some good ideas. One was collecting urine in public toilets to wash their togas. That seems to be something which, ehhh... won't fly today. But there are better uses:

Watched season 5 of Clarkson’s Farm. Intrigued by the soil analysis methods displayed. Led to finding the following article. Unfortunately, soil sample analysis still required to interpret the data.

#Clarkson’sFarm episode 3 is worth a watch. The level of innovation in Dutch farming is remarkable and yet the land and the environment is no worse for it. Wish our government would show the same commitment to innovation in farming that it does for other business sectors

Biting off a manageable mouthful that can be chewed and swallowed. Folks not interested in working for the massive industrialized farms may find this more to their liking.

Damn it! Every ag expert starts off telling us we need a soil sample to figure out what to put on our soil. So how do these jokers end up over fertilizing? Maybe the fertilizer shortage is a good thing. Anything to bring responsibility back to those whining about the shortage.

Homemade compost may inadvertently include herbicides, toxic elements or imbalances. It’s not always virtuous. One suggested method to check is a bio analysis.

Compost is kind of a black box. It is the result of the inputs and the microbe activity. But how to determine the NPK value to know how it will influence desired plants? Well, it can be tested for $50-500! At that point the ‘free’ compost becomes another expensive soil addition. Hmmm.

For no damn reason. St Emillion.

Potatoes are in and doing exactly what potatoes do. Quietly getting on with it while everything else falls apart. Growing food isn't a hobby at this point, it's the only response to a system that's visibly failing. #growyourown #offgrid #foodsovereignty #collapse #resilience #permaculture

"By that measure, the report found, in 2024 45.5% of U.S. households did not earn enough to cover their necessities." This is the cherry on our dystopian lives. www.npr.org/2026/05/28/n...

With shortages of urea fertilizer, it’s important to know how to get the most out of what you get.

Investments made in current machinery tend to lock farmers into their current farming approach. Apparently, they need other machinery to plant cover crops and to pursue sustainable practices. If bailouts are to be offered, make them be for switching to sustainable practices.

NOT NOW, DEADLY CLOUDS OF FUNGUS. www.sciencefocus.com/news/dust-st...