Old people with low cholesterol died twice as often from a heart attack as did old people with high cholesterol.
http://www.anh-usa.org/starting-children-on-drugs/
What is “bad” cholesterol, anyway? Conventional medicine says HDL cholesterol is good, and LDL is bad. But scientists at Texas A&M University have found that LDL cholesterol is actually needed by the body to build new muscle—a finding that is particularly important both for kids and for the rest of us as we get older and lose muscle more rapidly. It also helps get vitamin D around our body.
A review of nineteen large studies of more than 68,000 deaths by the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota found that low cholesterol predicted an increased risk of dying from gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases.
A recent study shows that the statin drug simvastatin, which the government is advocating we take to lower cholesterol levels, actually weakens our immune system and makes it difficult to fight off bacterial infections.
Yale’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine found that old people with low cholesterol died twice as often from a heart attack as did old people with high cholesterol.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Organic herbicides - the cure to your weed woes!
Weeds can compete with productive crops or pasture, or convert productive land into unusable scrub. Weeds are also often poisonous, distasteful, produce burrs, thorns or other damaging body parts or otherwise interfere with the use and management of desirable plants by contaminating harvests or excluding or poisoning livestock. Weeds tend to thrive at the expense of the more refined edible or ornamental crops. They provide competition for space, nutrients, water and light, although how seriously they will affect a crop depends on a number of factors. Some crops have greater resistance than others - smaller, slower growing seedlings are more likely to be overwhelmed than those that are larger and more vigorous. Vigorous plant stands are the best means for eradicating weeds. Using high quality seed, well-calibrated planting equipment, adapted varieties, optimal soil fertility, good soil drainage and tilth, and proper soil preparation will usually result in rapid, vigorous crop growth.
SOIL FERTILITY & CONDITION
In the 1930s, it was noted that heavy use of newly introduced chemical fertilizers in Germany brought about a very perceptible alteration in the proportion of different types of weed species. Some species which had formerly been very common as field weeds were rapidly disappearing, while other types of weeds were becoming much more prominent. We continue to see today that the type of fertility amendments one uses has a powerful effect on weed pressure, in both the number and species present. In an organic system, it is important to rely on the biological activity of the soil as the main source of fertility and favorable physical structure. An active and diverse microbial population in the soil is key to growing healthy, high-yielding organic crops. While the chemical components of a soil are important, fertility management should focus on feeding the soil microbial life for the long term, rather than tending to the immediate and changing needs of the plants. Any fertility amendments or inputs should be considered supplemental to the natural fertility of the soil. This population can be stimulated by increasing organic matter, by performing certain tillage operations that add oxygen to the soil, and limiting other tillage operations that unnecessarily disturb soil structure, and by avoiding the addition of any materials that will adversely affect microbial growth. The presence of microorganisms and organic material in the soil is essential to holding soil nutrient ions in the crop root zone, to prevent them from being lost to erosion or leaching. Microbial activity in soil may also shorten the life of dormant weed seeds and break down perennial roots and rhizomes, further reducing potential weed pressure.
Weed control is the botanical component of pest control, using physical and chemical methods to stop weeds from reaching a mature stage of growth when they could be harmful to domesticated plants, people, pets and livestock. In order to reduce weed growth, many "weed control" strategies have been developed in order to contain the growth and spread of weeds. The most basic is ploughing which cuts the roots of annual weeds.
Another mechanical method of weed control includes covering an area of ground with several layers of wet newspaper or one black plastic sheet for several weeks. In the case of using wet newspaper, the multiple layers prevent light from reaching all plants beneath, which kills them. Saturating the newspaper with water daily speeds the decomposition of the dead plants. Any weed seeds that start to sprout because of the water will also be deprived of sunlight, be killed, and decompose. After several weeks, all germinating weed seeds present in the ground should be dead. Then the newspaper can be removed and the ground can be planted. The decomposed plants will help fertilize the plants or seeds planted later. In the case of using the black plastic sheet, the greenhouse effect is used to kill the plants beneath the sheet. A 5-10 cm layer of wood chip mulch on the ground will also prevent most weeds from sprouting. Also, gravel can be spread over the ground as an inorganic mulch. Many people find that although the black plastic sheeting is extremely effective at preventing the weeds in areas where it covers, but in actual use it is difficult to achieve full coverage. You can also use asphalt rolled roofing or shingles, wood, cardboard, etc to cover and kill weeds. Knowing how weeds reproduce, spread and survive adverse conditions can help in developing effective control and management strategies. Weeds have a large range of techniques that enable them to invade and then thrive.
Man-made or Synthetic Herbicides, also commonly known as weed killers, are pesticide POISONS used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant hormones. Herbicides used to clear waste ground, industrial sites, railways and railway embankments are non-selective and kill all plant material with which they come into contact. Smaller quantities are used in forestry, pasture systems, and management of areas set aside as wildlife habitat. More than 166 Canadian cities have banned the cosmetic application of pesticide POISONS on lawns. As a result, urban streams in Ontario have seen an 80% reductiion of the three most commonly used lawn herbicides - 2, 4-D, dicamba and MCPP. The easiest treatment for lawn weeds is to tolerate or ignore them. "We are rightly appalled by the genetic effects of radiation; how then, can we be indifferent to the same effect in chemicals we disseminate widely in our environment?" - Rachel Carson
Synthetic herbicide POISONS have widely variable toxicity e.g., http://www.scribd.com/doc/57277946/RoundupandBirthDefectsv5. In addition to acute toxicity from high exposures there is concern of possible carcinogenicity as well as other long-term (chronic) health problems such as contributing to Parkinson's disease. Some herbicide POISONS cause a range of health effects ranging from skin rashes to death. The pathway of attack can arise from intentional or unintentional direct consumption, improper application resulting in the herbicide POISON coming into direct contact with people or wildlife, inhalation of volatile sprays, or food consumption prior to the labeled pre-harvest interval. Under extreme conditions, herbicide POISONS can also be transported via surface runoff to contaminate distant water sources. Most herbicide POISONS are supposed to decompose rapidly in soils via soil microbial decomposition, hydrolysis, or photolysis.
Some plants produce natural herbicides, such as the genus Juglans (walnuts), or the tree of heaven; such action of natural herbicides, and other related chemical interactions, is called allelopathy.
Herbicide POISONS are widely used in agriculture and in landscape turf management. In the U.S., they account for about 70% of all agricultural pesticide POISON use. Prior to the widespread use of chemical herbicides, cultural controls, such as altering soil pH, salinity, or fertility levels, were used to control weeds. Mechanical control (including tillage) was also (and still is) used to safely and effectively control weeds.
Recently the term organic has come to imply products used in organic farming. Under this definition an organic herbicide is one that can be used in a farming enterprise that has been classified as organic. Commercially-sold organic herbicides are expensive and may not be affordable for commercial farming. Depending on the application, they are generally used along with cultural and mechanical weed control practices.
Typically a combination of methods are used in organic situations.
Drip irrigation: Rubber hoses and other methods are used to bring water directly to the roots of the desired plants. This limits weed access to water.
Manually pulling weeds: Laborers are used to pull weeds at various points in the growing process.
Mechanically tilling around plants: Tractors are used to carefully till weeds around the crop plants at various points in the growing process. Besides tilling, other mechanical weed control methods including hoeing also exist.
Ploughing: Ploughing includes tilling of soil, intercultural ploughing and summer ploughing. Ploughing through tilling of soil uproots the weeds which causes them to die. In summer ploughing is done during deep summers. Summer ploughing also helps in killing other pests.
Crop rotation: Rotating crops with ones that kill weeds by choking them out, such as hemp, Mucuna pruriens, and other crops, can be a very effective method of weed control. It is a way to avoid the use of herbicides, and to gain the benefits of crop rotation.
Weed mats: A weed mat is an artificial mulch, fibrous cloth material, bark or newspaper laid on top of the soil preventing weeds from growing to the surface. Thee are special weed mats for lake vegetation.
Thermal methods
There are several thermal methods known to control weeds. Weed burners heat up soil quickly and destroy superficial parts of the plants. Weed seeds are often heat resistant and even react with an increase of growth on dry heat. Since the 19th century soil steam sterilization is used as a farming technique to clean soil completely from weeds. Several research results confirm the high effectiveness of humid heat against weeds and its seeds.
Homemade organic herbicides include:
Corn gluten meal (CGM) is a natural preemergence weed control used in turf grass, which reduces germination of many broadleaf and grass weeds. Corn Meal - Sometimes the most effective safe weed killers are the ones that stop the weeds before they even appear. Corn meal has a chemical in it that acts as a pre-emergent on plant seeds. That means that it will prevent the seed from germinating. Sprinkling corn meal in an area that you want to keep weeds out of, will not harm the current plants but will keep weeds from growing.
Sugar is another organic weed killer. It puts the soil organisms into overdrive and the soil becomes temporarily unsuitable for plants. It is great for killing weed trees, bushes or vines that are hard to pull out. Simply pour some sugar at the base of the plant you wish to kill. If you are concerned about it becoming an attraction to pests, simply mix the sugar with equal parts chili pepper to deter those possible pests.
Some spices are now effectively used in herbicides.
Vinegar is effective for 5-20% solutions of acetic acid with higher concentrations most effective but mainly destroys surface growth and so respraying to treat regrowth is needed. Resistant plants generally succumb when weakened by respraying. Straight vinegar or vinegar with a squirt or two of dishwashing liquid will also lay weeds low, but it may take repeated applications to do the job. (You can help the vinegar along by adding of 10% clove oil or lemon juice concentrate to each quart of vinegar.) The more acidic the vinegar, the more effective it will be at controlling weeds, but it also becomes more dangerous for you to handle as the concentration increases. “Regular” grocery-store vinegar typically has 3 to 5 percent acidity; you may be able to find 10 percent vinegar at a restaurant-supply store or where supplies for pickling are sold. Railway companies use a MUCH stronger concentration - 20% solution but at that strength, it can be dangerous to handle. For more difficult weeds, you may need this stronger vinegar concentration. You can purchase a 20% acetic acid solution that uses Yucca extract as a sticking agent. The solution will kill unwanted grass, weeds or plant material by dehydrating the plant. Be careful, even though this is considered an environmentally safe weed killer, it can harm you and it will kill any vegetation that comes in contact. Repeated applications of "regular" vinegar will eventually acidify the soil, making it harder for future generations of weeds (or any plants) to get a roothold. Ordinary strength vinegar (5-6% acetic acid) can be used. To a gallon of vinegar, one would add a 1/2 tsp of dish detergent to act as a surfactant so the vinegar would penetrate the soil well and move down the root. Put the vinegar into a large squeeze bottle (for a small job). For larger jobs, use a garden sprayer that will deliver a thin stream instead of a wide spray. You can sweeten the soil later with lime.
Hot Water/Steam has been applied commercially - it kills surface growth but not underground growth and so respraying to treat regrowth of perennials is needed. (Use the water from boiling your eggs in the morning. This is a great spot weed killer.)
Flame is considered more effective than steam but suffers from the same difficulties. You can invest in a handheld flame weeder – basically a propane torch with an extended nozzle – that lets you wipe out weeds without any herbicides at all. You can find flame-weeder nozzles that attach to a gas-grill-sized propane tank by means of a long hose, or small models that use a I-pound propane tank you can carry easily. An advantage of a flame weeder is that you can use it in the winter to rid you patio of treacherous icy patches, too. Do not burn Poison Ivy!
D-limonene (citrus oil). D-limonene (citrus oil) is a natural degreasing agent that strips the waxy skin or cuticle from weeds, causing dehydration and ultimately death. Many safe weed killers are typically made of citrus oils, which are nontoxic, but effective.
Borax, Powdered Laundry Detergent (especially with bleach), Floor strippers and many de-greasers will also kill most plants - but can contaminate for a long time.
Bleach kills almost everything, including plants. To use it as a weed killer, put a 50% bleach solution in a spray bottle and mist the offending plants.
Soap. Spray a 50% dish soap, 50% water mixture on your weeds. You will suffocate them.
Rubbing Alcohol: This one acts as a contact herbicide, burning the leaves of any plant it touches. It does not kill the entire plant, though. Vinegar can be used for the same purpose. Gin will also work and you can again help kill plants by adding the juice of two lemons.
Saltwater or salt applied in appropriate strengths to the rootzone will kill most plants.
Acids applied in appropriate strengths to the rootzone will kill virtually every plant. After which you can apply lime to sweeten the soil.
Monocerin produced by certain fungi will kill certain weeds such as Johnson Grass.
Most homemade organic weed killers use vinegar (acetic acid) and sulfur. If you are growing asparagus or celery, and will be growing it more or less forever in the same spot, you can also use rock salt. Otherwise, stay away from the salt. Prepare a mixture of 1/8 soap, ½ vinegar and 3/8 water. Pour into a spray bottle and mist plants. The soap will help the vinegar “stick” to the plant, and the top of the plant will begin to die.
Ready-to-use products that zap weeds with fatty acids (herbicidal soap), vinegar (acetic acid), or essential oils (such as eugenol, or clove oil; and d-limonene, or citrus oil) are available from various manufacturers.
One more important thing - it is generally best to do weed control on a SUNNY HOT day for best effects. If you try it during cool or wet weather, your results will generally be less effective. It generally needs a few days of hot weather to do the best weed control job.
Weeds can compete with productive crops or pasture, or convert productive land into unusable scrub. Weeds are also often poisonous, distasteful, produce burrs, thorns or other damaging body parts or otherwise interfere with the use and management of desirable plants by contaminating harvests or excluding or poisoning livestock. Weeds tend to thrive at the expense of the more refined edible or ornamental crops. They provide competition for space, nutrients, water and light, although how seriously they will affect a crop depends on a number of factors. Some crops have greater resistance than others - smaller, slower growing seedlings are more likely to be overwhelmed than those that are larger and more vigorous. Vigorous plant stands are the best means for eradicating weeds. Using high quality seed, well-calibrated planting equipment, adapted varieties, optimal soil fertility, good soil drainage and tilth, and proper soil preparation will usually result in rapid, vigorous crop growth.
SOIL FERTILITY & CONDITION
In the 1930s, it was noted that heavy use of newly introduced chemical fertilizers in Germany brought about a very perceptible alteration in the proportion of different types of weed species. Some species which had formerly been very common as field weeds were rapidly disappearing, while other types of weeds were becoming much more prominent. We continue to see today that the type of fertility amendments one uses has a powerful effect on weed pressure, in both the number and species present. In an organic system, it is important to rely on the biological activity of the soil as the main source of fertility and favorable physical structure. An active and diverse microbial population in the soil is key to growing healthy, high-yielding organic crops. While the chemical components of a soil are important, fertility management should focus on feeding the soil microbial life for the long term, rather than tending to the immediate and changing needs of the plants. Any fertility amendments or inputs should be considered supplemental to the natural fertility of the soil. This population can be stimulated by increasing organic matter, by performing certain tillage operations that add oxygen to the soil, and limiting other tillage operations that unnecessarily disturb soil structure, and by avoiding the addition of any materials that will adversely affect microbial growth. The presence of microorganisms and organic material in the soil is essential to holding soil nutrient ions in the crop root zone, to prevent them from being lost to erosion or leaching. Microbial activity in soil may also shorten the life of dormant weed seeds and break down perennial roots and rhizomes, further reducing potential weed pressure.
Weed control is the botanical component of pest control, using physical and chemical methods to stop weeds from reaching a mature stage of growth when they could be harmful to domesticated plants, people, pets and livestock. In order to reduce weed growth, many "weed control" strategies have been developed in order to contain the growth and spread of weeds. The most basic is ploughing which cuts the roots of annual weeds.
Another mechanical method of weed control includes covering an area of ground with several layers of wet newspaper or one black plastic sheet for several weeks. In the case of using wet newspaper, the multiple layers prevent light from reaching all plants beneath, which kills them. Saturating the newspaper with water daily speeds the decomposition of the dead plants. Any weed seeds that start to sprout because of the water will also be deprived of sunlight, be killed, and decompose. After several weeks, all germinating weed seeds present in the ground should be dead. Then the newspaper can be removed and the ground can be planted. The decomposed plants will help fertilize the plants or seeds planted later. In the case of using the black plastic sheet, the greenhouse effect is used to kill the plants beneath the sheet. A 5-10 cm layer of wood chip mulch on the ground will also prevent most weeds from sprouting. Also, gravel can be spread over the ground as an inorganic mulch. Many people find that although the black plastic sheeting is extremely effective at preventing the weeds in areas where it covers, but in actual use it is difficult to achieve full coverage. You can also use asphalt rolled roofing or shingles, wood, cardboard, etc to cover and kill weeds. Knowing how weeds reproduce, spread and survive adverse conditions can help in developing effective control and management strategies. Weeds have a large range of techniques that enable them to invade and then thrive.
Man-made or Synthetic Herbicides, also commonly known as weed killers, are pesticide POISONS used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant hormones. Herbicides used to clear waste ground, industrial sites, railways and railway embankments are non-selective and kill all plant material with which they come into contact. Smaller quantities are used in forestry, pasture systems, and management of areas set aside as wildlife habitat. More than 166 Canadian cities have banned the cosmetic application of pesticide POISONS on lawns. As a result, urban streams in Ontario have seen an 80% reductiion of the three most commonly used lawn herbicides - 2, 4-D, dicamba and MCPP. The easiest treatment for lawn weeds is to tolerate or ignore them. "We are rightly appalled by the genetic effects of radiation; how then, can we be indifferent to the same effect in chemicals we disseminate widely in our environment?" - Rachel Carson
Synthetic herbicide POISONS have widely variable toxicity e.g., http://www.scribd.com/doc/57277946/RoundupandBirthDefectsv5. In addition to acute toxicity from high exposures there is concern of possible carcinogenicity as well as other long-term (chronic) health problems such as contributing to Parkinson's disease. Some herbicide POISONS cause a range of health effects ranging from skin rashes to death. The pathway of attack can arise from intentional or unintentional direct consumption, improper application resulting in the herbicide POISON coming into direct contact with people or wildlife, inhalation of volatile sprays, or food consumption prior to the labeled pre-harvest interval. Under extreme conditions, herbicide POISONS can also be transported via surface runoff to contaminate distant water sources. Most herbicide POISONS are supposed to decompose rapidly in soils via soil microbial decomposition, hydrolysis, or photolysis.
Some plants produce natural herbicides, such as the genus Juglans (walnuts), or the tree of heaven; such action of natural herbicides, and other related chemical interactions, is called allelopathy.
Herbicide POISONS are widely used in agriculture and in landscape turf management. In the U.S., they account for about 70% of all agricultural pesticide POISON use. Prior to the widespread use of chemical herbicides, cultural controls, such as altering soil pH, salinity, or fertility levels, were used to control weeds. Mechanical control (including tillage) was also (and still is) used to safely and effectively control weeds.
Recently the term organic has come to imply products used in organic farming. Under this definition an organic herbicide is one that can be used in a farming enterprise that has been classified as organic. Commercially-sold organic herbicides are expensive and may not be affordable for commercial farming. Depending on the application, they are generally used along with cultural and mechanical weed control practices.
Typically a combination of methods are used in organic situations.
Drip irrigation: Rubber hoses and other methods are used to bring water directly to the roots of the desired plants. This limits weed access to water.
Manually pulling weeds: Laborers are used to pull weeds at various points in the growing process.
Mechanically tilling around plants: Tractors are used to carefully till weeds around the crop plants at various points in the growing process. Besides tilling, other mechanical weed control methods including hoeing also exist.
Ploughing: Ploughing includes tilling of soil, intercultural ploughing and summer ploughing. Ploughing through tilling of soil uproots the weeds which causes them to die. In summer ploughing is done during deep summers. Summer ploughing also helps in killing other pests.
Crop rotation: Rotating crops with ones that kill weeds by choking them out, such as hemp, Mucuna pruriens, and other crops, can be a very effective method of weed control. It is a way to avoid the use of herbicides, and to gain the benefits of crop rotation.
Weed mats: A weed mat is an artificial mulch, fibrous cloth material, bark or newspaper laid on top of the soil preventing weeds from growing to the surface. Thee are special weed mats for lake vegetation.
Thermal methods
There are several thermal methods known to control weeds. Weed burners heat up soil quickly and destroy superficial parts of the plants. Weed seeds are often heat resistant and even react with an increase of growth on dry heat. Since the 19th century soil steam sterilization is used as a farming technique to clean soil completely from weeds. Several research results confirm the high effectiveness of humid heat against weeds and its seeds.
Homemade organic herbicides include:
Corn gluten meal (CGM) is a natural preemergence weed control used in turf grass, which reduces germination of many broadleaf and grass weeds. Corn Meal - Sometimes the most effective safe weed killers are the ones that stop the weeds before they even appear. Corn meal has a chemical in it that acts as a pre-emergent on plant seeds. That means that it will prevent the seed from germinating. Sprinkling corn meal in an area that you want to keep weeds out of, will not harm the current plants but will keep weeds from growing.
Sugar is another organic weed killer. It puts the soil organisms into overdrive and the soil becomes temporarily unsuitable for plants. It is great for killing weed trees, bushes or vines that are hard to pull out. Simply pour some sugar at the base of the plant you wish to kill. If you are concerned about it becoming an attraction to pests, simply mix the sugar with equal parts chili pepper to deter those possible pests.
Some spices are now effectively used in herbicides.
Vinegar is effective for 5-20% solutions of acetic acid with higher concentrations most effective but mainly destroys surface growth and so respraying to treat regrowth is needed. Resistant plants generally succumb when weakened by respraying. Straight vinegar or vinegar with a squirt or two of dishwashing liquid will also lay weeds low, but it may take repeated applications to do the job. (You can help the vinegar along by adding of 10% clove oil or lemon juice concentrate to each quart of vinegar.) The more acidic the vinegar, the more effective it will be at controlling weeds, but it also becomes more dangerous for you to handle as the concentration increases. “Regular” grocery-store vinegar typically has 3 to 5 percent acidity; you may be able to find 10 percent vinegar at a restaurant-supply store or where supplies for pickling are sold. Railway companies use a MUCH stronger concentration - 20% solution but at that strength, it can be dangerous to handle. For more difficult weeds, you may need this stronger vinegar concentration. You can purchase a 20% acetic acid solution that uses Yucca extract as a sticking agent. The solution will kill unwanted grass, weeds or plant material by dehydrating the plant. Be careful, even though this is considered an environmentally safe weed killer, it can harm you and it will kill any vegetation that comes in contact. Repeated applications of "regular" vinegar will eventually acidify the soil, making it harder for future generations of weeds (or any plants) to get a roothold. Ordinary strength vinegar (5-6% acetic acid) can be used. To a gallon of vinegar, one would add a 1/2 tsp of dish detergent to act as a surfactant so the vinegar would penetrate the soil well and move down the root. Put the vinegar into a large squeeze bottle (for a small job). For larger jobs, use a garden sprayer that will deliver a thin stream instead of a wide spray. You can sweeten the soil later with lime.
Hot Water/Steam has been applied commercially - it kills surface growth but not underground growth and so respraying to treat regrowth of perennials is needed. (Use the water from boiling your eggs in the morning. This is a great spot weed killer.)
Flame is considered more effective than steam but suffers from the same difficulties. You can invest in a handheld flame weeder – basically a propane torch with an extended nozzle – that lets you wipe out weeds without any herbicides at all. You can find flame-weeder nozzles that attach to a gas-grill-sized propane tank by means of a long hose, or small models that use a I-pound propane tank you can carry easily. An advantage of a flame weeder is that you can use it in the winter to rid you patio of treacherous icy patches, too. Do not burn Poison Ivy!
D-limonene (citrus oil). D-limonene (citrus oil) is a natural degreasing agent that strips the waxy skin or cuticle from weeds, causing dehydration and ultimately death. Many safe weed killers are typically made of citrus oils, which are nontoxic, but effective.
Borax, Powdered Laundry Detergent (especially with bleach), Floor strippers and many de-greasers will also kill most plants - but can contaminate for a long time.
Bleach kills almost everything, including plants. To use it as a weed killer, put a 50% bleach solution in a spray bottle and mist the offending plants.
Soap. Spray a 50% dish soap, 50% water mixture on your weeds. You will suffocate them.
Rubbing Alcohol: This one acts as a contact herbicide, burning the leaves of any plant it touches. It does not kill the entire plant, though. Vinegar can be used for the same purpose. Gin will also work and you can again help kill plants by adding the juice of two lemons.
Saltwater or salt applied in appropriate strengths to the rootzone will kill most plants.
Acids applied in appropriate strengths to the rootzone will kill virtually every plant. After which you can apply lime to sweeten the soil.
Monocerin produced by certain fungi will kill certain weeds such as Johnson Grass.
Most homemade organic weed killers use vinegar (acetic acid) and sulfur. If you are growing asparagus or celery, and will be growing it more or less forever in the same spot, you can also use rock salt. Otherwise, stay away from the salt. Prepare a mixture of 1/8 soap, ½ vinegar and 3/8 water. Pour into a spray bottle and mist plants. The soap will help the vinegar “stick” to the plant, and the top of the plant will begin to die.
Ready-to-use products that zap weeds with fatty acids (herbicidal soap), vinegar (acetic acid), or essential oils (such as eugenol, or clove oil; and d-limonene, or citrus oil) are available from various manufacturers.
One more important thing - it is generally best to do weed control on a SUNNY HOT day for best effects. If you try it during cool or wet weather, your results will generally be less effective. It generally needs a few days of hot weather to do the best weed control job.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Use this as a safe (contraceptive) rodenticide...
Tripterygium wilfordii
Tripterygium wilfordii, or lei gong teng, is a twining vine in the botanical family Celastraceae common to southern China. T. wilfordii and its botanical cousins T. hypoglaucum and T. regeli have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2000 years, treating everything from fever and chills to edema and carbuncles. More recently it has been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, chronic hepatitis, chronic nephritis, and several skin disorders. Some men given T. wilfordii by their doctors are not able to conceive children. T. wilfordii’s contraceptive effect has been anecdotally known in China for many years; the first published finding came in 1982. A derivative of T. wilfordii could be an effective pharmaceutical alternative to hormonal contraceptives.
Most of the current studies on Tripterygium extracts take place in China, under the auspices of the Jiangsu Family Health Institute and Beijing and Shanghai ’s Institute of Materia Medica. A group of researchers at Harbor-UCLA’s Medical Center has also investigated one of T. wilfordii’s derivatives, triptolide.
How does it work?
T. wilfordii has not been tested in men as a contraceptive. What we know about its contraceptive effects comes from studies on rodents and retrospective studies of men taking a Tripterygium preparation for some other medical reason. These studies show that low doses of various Tripterygium preparations produce significantly lowered sperm density, with the remaining sperm incapable of swimming effectively. One study suggests that, like nifedipine, T. wilfordii derivatives may act as calcium channel blockers (Bai 2002). Much current research is focused on establishing the mechanism by which the plant affects fertility and investigating potential toxicity and side effects.
How is it delivered?
In traditional Chinese medicine, men prescribed some form of Tripterygium would make a decoction by simmering peeled, dried roots of the plant for at least an hour. Depending on the malady being treated, a doctor would prescribe 15-25 grams of Tripterygium prepared in this way each day. Researchers have found that a decoction is an effective contraceptive at one-third of this dose, or 5-8 grams per day (Qian 1987).
Although the dried roots are commonly available in Chinese pharmacies around the world, Researchers do not expect that preparing a decoction everyday is a practical way to deliver a male contraceptive. They are investigating a number of different Tripterygium preparations as possible contraceptives. These preparations would most likely be delivered in the form of a tablet or pill.
Tripterygium wilfordii, or lei gong teng, is a twining vine in the botanical family Celastraceae common to southern China. T. wilfordii and its botanical cousins T. hypoglaucum and T. regeli have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2000 years, treating everything from fever and chills to edema and carbuncles. More recently it has been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, chronic hepatitis, chronic nephritis, and several skin disorders. Some men given T. wilfordii by their doctors are not able to conceive children. T. wilfordii’s contraceptive effect has been anecdotally known in China for many years; the first published finding came in 1982. A derivative of T. wilfordii could be an effective pharmaceutical alternative to hormonal contraceptives.
Most of the current studies on Tripterygium extracts take place in China, under the auspices of the Jiangsu Family Health Institute and Beijing and Shanghai ’s Institute of Materia Medica. A group of researchers at Harbor-UCLA’s Medical Center has also investigated one of T. wilfordii’s derivatives, triptolide.
How does it work?
T. wilfordii has not been tested in men as a contraceptive. What we know about its contraceptive effects comes from studies on rodents and retrospective studies of men taking a Tripterygium preparation for some other medical reason. These studies show that low doses of various Tripterygium preparations produce significantly lowered sperm density, with the remaining sperm incapable of swimming effectively. One study suggests that, like nifedipine, T. wilfordii derivatives may act as calcium channel blockers (Bai 2002). Much current research is focused on establishing the mechanism by which the plant affects fertility and investigating potential toxicity and side effects.
How is it delivered?
In traditional Chinese medicine, men prescribed some form of Tripterygium would make a decoction by simmering peeled, dried roots of the plant for at least an hour. Depending on the malady being treated, a doctor would prescribe 15-25 grams of Tripterygium prepared in this way each day. Researchers have found that a decoction is an effective contraceptive at one-third of this dose, or 5-8 grams per day (Qian 1987).
Although the dried roots are commonly available in Chinese pharmacies around the world, Researchers do not expect that preparing a decoction everyday is a practical way to deliver a male contraceptive. They are investigating a number of different Tripterygium preparations as possible contraceptives. These preparations would most likely be delivered in the form of a tablet or pill.
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