Hi,

If it doesn't frost hard tonight (the latest NSW forecast is a low of 34F) I believe there is a good chance that our last corn patch will ripen. With the forecast for the week I would say we will be able to start picking it about October 1. BTW this sweet corn is not Mirai but is still very tasty, Also if we escape the frost we will continue picking beans and tomatoes for at least 10 more days.   I will send a special newsletter out tomorrow evening on letting you know about the frost and a damage assessment if it does occur. It's going to be close.

The latest CPC's (Climate Prediction Center) forecast calls for a warmer than normal fall, winter and spring. Last year they were forecasting a colder than normal winter and a slightly warmer spring. They were wrong on both counts--winter was warmer than normal and the disastrous spring was much warmer than normal--in fact it was a spring of record warmth. So, I wouldn't put much stock in their forecast this year especially since the El Nino looks weak which means, as far as I am concerned, no one knows what the winter will be like!

Well, we took the video of harvesting and cooking the Heart of Gold squash. However, it needs editing before it is suitable for You Tube. We will send a newsletter out when it is ready.

Here is something interesting about a strange object we found in August of 1999 that was sitting on a pumpkin vine in a very thick pumpkin patch. When I first saw it I thought it may be a part from a UFO that fell off of it! It was about a foot long, silvery with sort of fins on the back. We have kept it all these years. I will be taking a video of it and put it also on You Tube. I will send out another newsletter when the video is up and running. BTW the cylindrical part is non-magnetic while the thin fins are magnetic--either iron or nickel, probably iron since there seems to be a bit of rust on the fins. My best guess it is something that came from a military jet.

Warning! Don't Fall For the Sea Salt Hype!

I'm writing this to inform people that when you buy sea salt not only is it throwing money in the garbage (according to the Mayo Clinic), but it may be harmful! To understand why, one must understand how sea salt is made. Really simply put, seawater is evaporated and what is left is sea salt. The logic for the hype is that sea salt contains more needed nutrients than just sodium chloride (pure salt). This is true but dried out sewer water contains more needed nutrients as well! Let's face it, the sea today is basically nothing but extremely diluted sewer water since many countries dump their waste (human and industrial) directly into the sea without any treatment. Happily, the US and many other countries do treat the waste water today somewhat before dumping it in the ocean. Even these countries didn't do this a hundred years ago and the junk is still in the water. The EPA has put out warnings about eating swordfish and some other fish high up on the food chain since they may contain harmful amounts of mercury. Swordfish, you see, eat smaller fish, which eat smaller fish yet, which then eat mostly plankton--you see they concentrate the mercury and other potentially harmful elements. Remember how sea salt is made? It is a process that basically concentrates seawater itself! Seawater in the open ocean would be fine to drink if you just got rid of the salt. However, when you concentrate modern seawater you wind up with elements that may be harmful. Keep in mind the radioactivity they found in tunas which was believed to come from the March 11th 2011 Japanese nuclear disaster triggered by that huge earthquake and resultant tsunami.

Now you are probably wondering about regular table salt, the type you buy in small cylindrical blue containers with a girl carrying an umbrella. Where does that salt come from? From evaporated seawater. "So what's the difference?", you might ask.   Oh, I forgot to mention that regular table salt comes from ancient seas that had no man made pollution. With the sun beating down, and no outlet to the major oceans because of shifting continents, these ancient seas dried up and created salt deposits. They are now mined in salt mines. Michigan now produces more salt than any other state with New York coming in a distant second. Much of this salt goes directly into road salt. With table salt, the mined salt is purified so it is nearly 100% sodium chloride and then ground up fine and then is sold as iodized (potassium iodine added) or non-iodized. Iodine is a necessary element that the body needs. Why do they purify the salt from ancient seas? Well, you see, all seawater--even the ancient stuff--has traces of every non-gaseous natural element in existence -- from lithium (Atomic Number 3) to uranium (Atomic Number 92). This includes many necessary elements but also things such heavy metals (including arsenic). If you don't care about this (and I really don't) and want pure ancient sea salt get your self some clean road salt and grind it up. You won't only save money you will get yourself what you really want when you hear about sea salt! (BTW, for sanitary reasons and if you are serious about this, I would purchase large chunks of mined salt and then rinse them off, let dry and then grind them. Even better yet, keep buying those little blue containers of salt and eat a balanced meal!)

Nashle,

Tom