Todd Heft

Foods that are recommended using the water bath technique are: Water bath canning is relatively simple. After the appropriate time passed, take the jars out of the water and let sit upright for at least 24 hours so that the jar can properly seal as it is cooling off. Once the recommended pressure canning time has passed for the recipe you are using, let the canner return to zero pressure, open the lid, and let the jars cool for 10 minutes before removing. Many store their canned goods in a pantry, cellar or basement, but there are a lot of canners out there who have so many canned foods that they need a special storage spot for all of it.

The pH scale is logarithmic, which means a change in 1 pH unit reflects a 10X change in acidity or alkalinity; soil pH of 6 is 10 times more acidic than a soil pH of 7; a pH of 5 is 100 times more acidic than a pH of 7. For established garden beds, use peat moss as an annual mulch around the acid-loving plant’s root zone. In my organic garden, I use peat moss generously to achieve a lower pH, along with sulfur for plants like blueberries. Test your garden soil before adding any amendments Your region’s native soil will tend toward a certain pH, but so many local factors play into your garden soil, that you should never assume it’s of alkalinity or acidity.

Worms, worm castings, and worm teas can help improve the soil in your garden or growing containers around your home. Cornell University goes into great detail about how these organisms can improve your soil biology and fight off pathogens and other diseases that take hold in your flat earth garden, raised garden bed or containers. When using commercially sourced soils and planting mediums in container gardening, the lack of natural benefits provided by worms in native organic soil renders the container soil short on biologic diversity. While worm teas do not offer much in NPK values they do help unlock nutrients in the soil, assist with aeration and water retention in the soil, and can form a synergistic relationship with plants and roots to promote overall health and fight off disease.

One of them is gardening therapy – also known as horticultural therapy – and it offers a variety of benefits for recovering addicts. There are many sub-types of therapeutic gardens including healing gardens, enabling gardens, rehabilitation gardens, and restorative gardens. It’s essential for recovering addicts to exercise and while it is possible to exercise on gym equipment such as elliptical machines or stationary bicycles, this repetetive type of workout can become boring quickly. Pulling weeds, digging in the soil and focusing on gardening tasks can help an addict work away feelings of anger at themselves and others concerning addiction.