Companion Planting

Companion planting means growing plants that coexist in the same area that benefit each other.  Along the south side of my garage wall, I have planted climbing beans in between the cherry roma tomatoes. The beans have climbed to over seven feet tall and the vines will soon begin to flower. The bean pods will hang down between the tomatoes. By pruning the secondary leaf, the roma tomato grows upwards and produces more tomatoes. One tomato plant will produce five clusters with each cluster having five tomatoes. One tomato plant will produce 35 tomatoes.  In front of the tomatoes, I have planted some marigolds. Marigolds keep leaf eating insects from eating the tomato and bean leaves. I have placed  potted geraniums next to the tomatoes to add a nice contrast in color. I have also planted borage which is a herb with a multitude of little blue flowers. The blue flowers attract the pollinating bumble bees. The leaves of the borage herb taste like cucumber and makes an excellent salad. Borage produces many seeds and readily self seeds.

Coral Bells

On the west side of my house is a flower bed that is shaded from the sun so one has to grow plants that grow in the shade. When I was sixteen and still living at home in Lethbridge, my mother planted a flower called Coral Bells that was given to her by a woman named Mrs. Deaks. My mother said Mrs. Deaks had been given this plant a long time ago and since she was thinning out her flower bed she gave my mother some Coral Bells. My mother planted these flowers in full sunlight in her front flower bed and for years the flowers flourished. In 1990, my mother dug up some Coral Bells and told me to plant them in my flower bed at my house in Calgary. I have two patches of Coral Bells that continue to grow on the shaded west side of the house. Yesterday, I looked down on these lovely little red flowers in bloom and realized that these flowers are the descendants of Mrs. Deaks flowers from over 60 years ago. Mrs. Deaks has passed away long ago but her flowers still live on as part of her legacy. Sometimes one forgets that plants like people are part of a cycle of life with their unique history. I have Cattleya orchids that I purchased at the Foothills orchid society that were once owned by an orchid collector who has since passed away. These orchids are 75 years old and still growing and flowering in my greenhouse.

Growing Wheat and Corn

I met this retired individual about five years ago at a Chinese association banquet. I wanted to interview him regarding how he immigrated to Canada but he was reluctant to talk about his early childhood which is the case with many of the Chinese who immigrated to Canada in the 1950's. One has to respect a person's privacy so I did not pursue the matter but in our conversation I ascertained he was an avid gardener. I told him I had my own greenhouse and from that point in time we have become good friends because of our mutual interest in growing plants. My friend being retired likes to experiment in creating automatic watering devices that distribute water to growing plants on a consistent basis. On July  25, I visited his home to view his latest experiment in growing wheat and corn with his latest underground gravity watering system. The watering system is based on the concept that as the roots of the plant require more water the roots create the suction that draws the water from the underground tube. The result is that the plants have a uniform source of water.  In traditional watering with sprinklers or irrigation, plants are initially soaked with too much water and the soil dries out between watering intervals. Moreover, it is almost impossible to distribute water equally to all the plants with some plants receiving more water than others that results in uneven growth with some plants being larger, others smaller and some dying due to insufficient water.  With the automatic watering device developed over a four year period, he has finally succeeded in growing wheat and corn  twice the size a traditional farmer could grow in the same time frame. The wheat he has grown is almost five feet tall that was planted at the end of April and the corn that was planted in May is four feet tall. Growing corn in the Calgary area is almost impossible due to the short growing season but with a consistent watering system and full sunlight he has proven that corn can be grown in the Calgary area.

Red Lake Lodge Provincial Campsite

Just thirty minutes from Bowden on the Little Red Deer River is a provincial campground known as the Red Lake Lodge.  Throughout Alberta, there are provincial campgrounds that can be reserved online.  My cousins booked the Red Lake Lodge campsite for July 13,14, 15 and parked their Sandpiper RV on the campsite. The RV is like a home on wheels with all the amenities of a modern house.  We set up camp and then sat around the campfire. My friends from the River Ridge trailer across the road came over to visit and we made plans to go to Pine Lake that is 40 minutes away to do some water sledding and fishing. So the next day five families went to Pine Lake for a community picnic while we took turns riding in the boat, water sledding and fishing. On this Saturday, it was free fishing without a licence because the Provincial government is trying Albertans to become interested in fishing as a recreational activity,

 

 

 

Pine Lake

Pine Lake is a lake about a two hour drive north of Calgary. The lake is accessible to the general public and  places around the lake where there is only private access. In the public access there is an area to launch your boat.  In the private access locations there are mobile trailer sites and a private docks. There are private owners who have built lakeside homes with their own docks.  The lake is popular for water skiing, water rafting, canoeing, boating and fishing.

Management Strategies That Work

Michael Miller (2002) in The Good The Bad & The Ugly develops 50 strategies to use in business based Classic Western movies. I recently reread this book and realized that I have used all of these strategies in dealing with volunteers, corporations, politicians, educators and students. Here is a brief outline of the main 50 business strategies.

Business Strategies To Adopt

1. Vision and planning

• See the future not the present circumstances
• Think big
• Create a strategy/plan
• Quantifiable goal
• Use the right tools
• Choose your target
• Contingency plan
• Adapt to changing conditions
• Test your plan
• Follow through on plan

2. The competition

• Know the competition
• How will competition react
• Beware of nothing to lose competitor
• Do not underestimate competition
• Have an edge
• Create an image
• Show mercy to competitors
• Be a better cheater
• Alliances
• Do not let them see you sweat

3.Taking Action

• Gather data
• Define the rules
• Act fast, be decisive
• Drive a hard bargain
• Guerrilla tactics
• Cheat better than competitors
• Play it by ear
• Cut losses
• Divert competition
• Follow through on promises/threats

4. Team Management and Leadership

• Assert authority
• Teach the team/do not do their job
• Do not be a tyrant/lead
• Do not play favourites
• Dissolve internal conflicts
• Train hard/ push your staff
• Do not contradict your staff decisions
• Entertain all opinions but you decide
• Hire professionals
• Take responsibility for making mistakes

5. Ethics and Personal style

• Evaluate with open eyes
• Mentor/find mentor
• Do not be drawn into conflicts
• Be cautious
• Do not believe everything you hear
• Be selective with whom you work
• Be selective with whom you deal with
• Make up your own mind
• Do what needs to be done
• Nothing is black or white

Teaching Memoires

I have created another blogsite title Mr. Lees's Teaching Memoires. I will periodically recall and reflect on my 36 years in the teaching profession.
http://mrleesteachablemomentsblogsite.blogspot.ca/