DIRTY MOP

I heard a rather humorous fact this week that pushed the boundaries of what I think is lazy. I know that some people live very busy lives and need services that offer to walk the dog or iron the clothes, but now you can get people to play your computer games for you. In America there is a service where the game is played up to a certain level whereby you can take control. This eliminates the boring bits at the beginning of the game and you can get straight into the excitement. There was another instance this week that I experienced and I can’t decide whether it was laziness or a lack of understanding about personal hygiene that prompted it. Let me explain. I was in a busy waiting room when the cleaning person came out of the toilets brandishing a very soiled, grey mop (with no bucket present) that had just been used to clean the spillages from the sink and apathetic aiming around the toilet bowl. Traipsing this through the busy waiting room was bad enough but without rinsing the mop the woman proceeded to get everyone, including me, to lift up our legs whilst she poked and prodded the germ ridden material on a stick underneath the chairs. What do you do or say under these circumstances? I was tempted to point out that different tools should be used for the toilet and the waiting area, but I just wasn’t brave enough. I turned into one of those people that would rather moan to someone else than do something pro-active and tell the woman myself. It was safer anyway, it’s never a good idea to insult someone with a weapon in their hands, especially one that has been down the toilet!

Environmental.

LEG CRAMP

Hello Ian.
I wondered if you know of any natural remedies for leg cramps. I am kept awake with the pain and irritation most nights. A friend of mine suggested quinine tablets, but I thought they were for malaria. Please can you help?

Reply:

Leg cramps are a very common problem, especially at night when you are rested. Before I suggest natural remedies to prevent the pain I will talk about the quinine suggestion first. You are correct that quinine is given for malaria, but it has been used for cramps as well. Many doctors prescribe quinine tablets for leg cramps. Quinine is the ingredient that gives tonic water its bitter taste. Many doctors and patients swear by it, but mixed results in clinical trials have cast doubt on its effectiveness.

On rare occasions, quinine can cause a significant reduction in the number of platelets in the blood that may result in the body being prone to bleeding easily. Because of this problem, and doubts about the drug's effectiveness, over-the-counter sale of quinine was stopped in the mid-1990s, although you can still buy quinine tablets because of the loophole for dietary supplements. The very small amount of quinine in tonic water (about 15 milligrams per 8 ounces) is low enough not to pose a danger, but probably too low to offer any benefit, some people seem to rely more on the gin that is added to the tonic to get a good nights sleep! Here are some simple methods that shouldn’t leave you with a sore head in the morning.

EASE THE PAIN

While it lasts, the pain from a leg cramp can be excruciating. Usually it goes away within a few minutes, though bad ones can cause lingering soreness. Typically, leg cramps affect the muscles in the calf or along the sole of the foot.

The best immediate response is gently stretching the taut muscles. With the calf muscles, you can do that by grasping your toes and then slowly pulling your foot toward you. Leaning forward against a wall while keeping your heels on the ground does the same thing. Just standing up and putting weight on the affected leg may help, though you should be careful about falling: Get some help if someone is there to assist you. Heat (from a heating pad or warm, not hot, water) or massaging of the leg and foot can also help muscles relax, although it's best to try stretching first.

PREVENTATIVE SOLUTIONS
Here are a few suggestions for preventing leg cramps before they happen:

Wear good shoes. Flat feet and other structural problems make some people particularly susceptible to leg cramps. Proper footwear is one way to compensate.

Loosen up the covers. Many people like to sleep under snug covers. But, especially if you're lying on your back, the covers can press your feet down, a position that tightens up the calf and the muscles along the bottom of the foot. Tight muscles are vulnerable to cramping. Just loosening the covers and sleeping on your stomach with your feet hanging over the bed can keep them relaxed.

Stretch. Stretching your calf and foot muscles before you go to bed can help prevent cramps in the first place. Use the same techniques that stretch the calf and foot muscles during a leg cramp. You can also try placing the front part of your feet on the bottom step of a stairway and slowly lowering your heels so they're below the level of the step.

Drink plenty of water. If you're active (that includes walking, gardening, doing housework), you need fluids to avoid dehydration. But don't overdo it. High amounts of fluids can dilute the concentration of sodium in your blood. This causes a variety of problems, including muscle cramps. How much you should drink depends on how active you are and the foods you eat. As we get older, we tend to forget to drink enough water because the thirst impulse becomes weaker with age. Some people also worry about adding more trips to the bathroom, especially at night, so top up your water earlier in the evening.

Sometimes muscle aches in the legs are confused with leg cramps. The difference can be important. Poor blood circulation in the legs may cause muscle pain when the muscles are in use, for example, while walking. Whereas muscle cramps most often occur when the muscle is at rest. Losing out on your valuable sleeping time has all sorts of knock on effects such as poor concentration and shortened tempers. As I am not in the medical profession I would advise a visit to your doctor if the symptoms persist.

Environmental, household.

HALTING CLIMATE CHANGE

(Click on title for a link to Cool Earth)

The world is massively overspending its carbon budget. Last year the global population released 9 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere creating the conditions for radical climate change. By 2025 this will rise to an annual 13 billion tonnes, by which time our environment will be catastrophically destabilised. The options we have for balancing the world’s carbon budget are limited. Of all the carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels since the start of industrial revolution, half have been made in the last 20 years. Our use of fossil fuels is accelerating so fast that sufficient cuts will not be made in time. The only change in human activity capable of delivering the cuts needed is tropical deforestation. Changes in land use account for over 2 billion tonnes of released carbon each year – equivalent to approximately 8 billion tonnes of CO2 - as much as the combined fossil fuel emissions of the US and European Union. The environmental value of curbing deforestation therefore exceeds anything deliverable by the Kyoto Treaty.

Carbon trading has so far placed no value on curbing tropical deforestation. Kyoto excludes protecting mature rainforest from its wish list. Preservation of tropical forest is nonetheless the single most effective means of abating global climate change. Since most deforestation is caused by marginal agriculture and low value logging, it makes no sense that a fair value is not placed on the environmental service provided globally by rainforest.

Cool Earth
Johan Eliasch – the owner of a 400,000 acres Amazon rainforest preserve, Chairman of Head NV and Deputy Party Treasurer of the Conservative Party in the UK- and former Pensions Minister Rt Hon Frank Field MP have created an organisation called Cool Earth to make some sense of the situation. Cool Earth is combining mass membership with the world’s biggest businesses and the world’s biggest eco-resources to halt climate change. By placing a fair value on the carbon locked up and absorbed each year by tropical forests, Cool Earth is enabling developed world consumers and businesses to fund directly local forest protection on a massive scale. Through investment in health, education and forest protection, Cool Earth say that they are tackling climate change by pricing deforestation out of the market. Protecting local communities is Cool Earth’s first priority. Long term protection of key eco-resources only succeeds when it is aligned with local people’s interests. Underwritten by Johan Eliasch, Cool Earth will protect 400,000 acres of forest in its first year - equivalent to 10% of Europe’s emissions - by creating wealthier, more secure futures for local people. By renting the environmental services of the tropics, Cool Earth think that they have the only scaleable answer to climate change. For more information go to www.coolearth.org

Environmental.

POTATO CARE

I’ve just received my vegetable seed order through the post. I’m having to practice being very patient resisting the urge to plant the seeds out too early. The golden rule for outdoor planting is – Not too early, not too deeply and not too thickly. Seeds will only germinate when the temperatures are high enough to allow growth to begin. Sowing in wet and near freezing soil is asking for trouble. After saying that I’m making a start planting some garlic in a dry spot in the vegetable patch. I’ll try hard to hold off until March until I plant most of my other seed. For the real enthusiast who wants to get an early start, cloches can be put out to both warm the soil and dry it out ready for sowing seed such as cabbage, early summer cauliflower, early carrots, lettuce, peas and broad beans. .

POTATOES
Potatoes can be grown in almost any soil; it is the best crop to grow in grassland or wasteland, which is to be turned into a vegetable plot. Earthing the potatoes up and their dense leaf canopy, which stops weeds growing, helps to clear the ground. In established vegetable plots don’t grow potatoes on areas where they have been planted within the last two years, as there could be a build up of pests such as eelworm that will cause yellowing leaves and tiny tubers.

EARLY POTATOES
Early potatoes are simply maincrop potatoes dug up when they are the size of duck eggs.
When you get your seed potatoes, put them in trays or egg boxes, resting them on some dry peat compost. Have the rose end upwards; this will be the end with the greatest number of eyes. Place in a frost-free room, out of direct sunlight so that sprouting can take place. This process is known as chitting. When the sturdy shoots are 2 to 3cm long they are ready for planting out. Don’t plant out soft or diseased seed.

Choose a sunny spot. If the soil wasn’t manured in autumn, then add some peat or compost to have the soil ready for planting in the next few weeks. If planting in grassland wireworm may be a problem, these are 1-2cm long, shiny, yellow grubs that attack the roots. You can use a chemical (Pirimiphos- methyl) to control these or an organic method perferably. Cut an old potato in half, cut out the eyes (to stop them sprouting) fix these on sticks and bury 10cm into the ground. Put one every square metre. The wireworms will be attracted to these. Check them every day and destroy any you find in soapy water. Do this before the seed potatoes are planted.

Potatoes dislike cold and wet conditions so unless you plant the spuds under black polythene, wait until the sun has warmed the soil and the danger of frost recedes.

Horticultural.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES

Ian
I have heard that Jerusalem artichokes make a good alternative to spuds, what are they and how can I grow them. Thanks E.M. by E-mail


Reply
There isn’t much to touch the humble spud. You can tire easily from eating pasta or rice everyday, but there’s nothing like a big bowl of mash to fill you up. Jerusalem artichokes would make a pleasant change to the usual fare but they do have a distinct flavour and not everyone likes the taste. Those that do will relish the soup that it makes. The plant comes from the North American plains and is related to the sunflower. Like the globe artichoke it is a member of the daisy family. It was introduced here from France in about 1617, so it has a long history of cultivation. It is very easy to grow but you need a large garden to accommodate them as they can reach up to and beyond two metres. It would make a great screen in the garden even if you didn’t eat it. In warm climates it will produce sunflower heads but here the season isn’t long enough. If you know anyone who has the crop then you could get some tubers from them to make a start. If not, garden centres usually stock them. As a guide, plant the tubers in March, 40cm away from each other in rows that are 75 cm apart. This way they will stand a chance of holding each other up. The plants need to grow until the leaves turn brown in autumn. Either harvest all of the tubers and pick some small ones to plant next year of do as the French do and leave the ones that stay on the stems in the ground to grow on for next year.

PREPARATION

Wash and scrub the tubers in water. If they are smooth, cut away the roots and tips. When peeled put them in water. Knobbly artichokes are best boiled in their skins for about ten minutes until half cooked. Then run them under the cold tap and peel the skins off.

Horticultural.

MARCH IN THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Photo: March is a good time to clean the outdoor pots.

Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one vegetable no garden should be without. Many varieties can be grown outside in summer with mixed results. For the best chance of success try growing them in patio pots or hanging baskets. The earliest crops will develop on plants grown under glass, ideally in a heated greenhouse, but an unheated one will do. I find that tomatoes will start off well on the windowsill but eventually they will get too large, the worst thing about this is that unless you have a very big window, you will be in darkness all summer because they will block off all of the light. Tomatoes are easy to grow from seed. Sow in a heated propagator to encourage quick germination. Don’t be tempted to feed the tomatoes until the first trusses have formed. If you ply them with tomato feed too early you will get loads of green foliage growth but tiny toms.

Strawberries
Home-grown strawberries are a welcome summer treat and runners planted now should flower in order to fruit this year. Choose several different varieties to spread the harvest season from June until late summer. Rooted runners, sometimes called crowns, you can get these off of a friends patch or buy named varieties from specialist fruit nurseries. Plants should be spaced 45cm (18in) apart in rows about 75cm (2.5ft) apart. When working out how much space you will need, remember that you'll need enough room to get between rows for picking. You can plant through a layer of black polythene to control weeds, but this looks rather unsightly. Covering plants with cloches will encourage earlier flowering, but do open cloches during the day to allow insects to pollinate the flowers.

Rhubarb
Cover rhubarb with forcing jars or old buckets to exclude light and encourage long tender stalks.

Celery
Sow seed in pots in the greenhouse during March and April to raise plants that you can plant out from May to June.

Prepare for outdoor sowings
There is no need to dig soil deeply every year unless you want to incorporate more compost, gravel or other soil conditioners. Forking over the surface to remove old crops and weeds should be sufficient for most people. It may be worth getting in a few dozen bags of mushroom compost each year; this can simply be raked over the soil for the worms to work in over the coming weeks.

Clean greenhouses and frames
Wash frames and cloches inside and out with soapy water to clean away any build-up of dirt. This ensures maximum light passes through the glass or plastic to reach seedlings and crops at this dull time of year.

Transplant evergreens
The soil starts to warm up in March, so this is an ideal time to transplant evergreen shrubs and conifers or to plant new ones, including hedges. Planting early means new roots start to grow almost immediately, helping the plants to establish quickly

TOP TIP
On sunny days try to get into the garden and clean up the containers and ornaments, they will brighten your plot for the rest of the year.

Horticultural.