Bloggin for the Noggin

     Back on January 16th, 2010 I wrote my very first blog. My reasoning at the time was simple, I was tired of reading articles in magazines, online, and elsewhere that I REALLY wanted to learn more about in the horticulture world, only to end up with just as many questions (if not more) than when I started. I was nowhere near as prolific in the garden scene as I may be now, so I really was trying to learn. Yes, I sat and read textbooks that I could find. My Friday nights were filled with searching out Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), which is a document that contains information on the potential hazards (health, fire, reactivity and environmental) and how to work safely with the chemical product. Yeah, I was a REAL party animal!!

Here is a typical sheet I would read, this is for Carbaryl (Sevin Dust)
     As I was saying, other than the textbooks and MSD Sheets, I was having issues learning by reading Magazine and online articles, they just never really completed the whole story. Hence, one of the main reasons for The Citrus Guy blog, to teach as MUCH information on a specific topic as I possibly could. Does it fall short occasionally? Probably.
Is it from lack of trying? No.
But I would bet that you will know A LOT more about something after reading one of my articles. I only say that because I have received many wonderful e-mails thanking me for the information that I provide. I completely believe in the quote, which is commonly attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, "Knowledge Is Power".

     Michelangelo once stated that "He is Still Learning".
 I like that one too!
So, as I continue to learn, I will continue to teach. However, teaching and knowledge are great, but you need to put that knowledge to use.

So in actuality, the equation is Knowledge+Action=Power.
     How does this relate to the subject at hand?
Other than the obvious, people need to go outside and dig in the ground, plant something, or simply work in the garden more, I wanted my blog to be more than just information.
My action?
     I have been vetting different gardening, horticulture, and yard paraphernalia sites over the past several months to make this blog a one-stop shop as it where. Here is the gist. I discuss something here, maybe a new plant cultivar that has come out, or a new pesticide, you get all excited about it and you want to get some. Where do you go? You have to go hunting around the web, possibly getting frustrated, then you give up. You have the knowledge, but without the action, or tools to create the action, you do not have the full power. If I have numerous links either in the article itself or at the top of the page, I can direct you there.
     Pretty simple, huh? There is a caveat that I am attempting to fix. Occasionally, you will see a link in one of my articles that does NOT make any sense. For instance, I talked about Sweet Potatoes before. One of the programs I am using to install links on here is a little too literal, it will probably take you to a dog food site that is made with Sweet Potatoes. I will also discuss Neem oil as a horticultural organic pesticide at times, the link may take you to an essential oils health and beauty website. I assure you I am working on getting that changed, so please, if you get sent to a weird site and have NO IDEA why it sent you there, it is being worked on. In some cases, it might just happen to be something that you needed anyway, so if that is the case, BONUS!!
     Another secondary reason for the blog was to help and try to fix as much of the "bad" information that was out there.
Let me give you a couple of examples:
Example #1- I was at a function onetime and was asked, how do you tell the difference between a male and female fig? I was waiting for the punchline and wanted to know what they meant. They proceeded to tell me that a "fairly" reliable source had stated that you need a male and female fig to produce fruit. I quickly told them that was absolutely incorrect and that one fig tree will produce fruit.
Example #2- A well-known market type website had a product for sale that a very nice lady asked me if I thought it was a good idea to purchase. When she told me what it was, I almost spit out my coffee that I was drinking. The item? She wanted to know if she should buy some seedless grape seeds.
I will let that sink in for a minute.

     The sad part is, I stumble across things like that on a weekly basis. If it is on the Internet, it must be true right? Huh? What? Wait a minute, my blog is on the Internet, so if it isn't right, it's, but....never mind!
      I try to research everything I post as much as I possibly can. I take my teachings very seriously. The world is losing all of the growers, horticulturists, and gardeners at an alarming rate. I wrote an article last year entitled "We're Losing Them Folks" discussing how the younger generation is turning away from gardening. I want people to see that we need education. We need truth. We need to get rid of false news and information. We need the younger generation to get OFF of their computer-laden butts and get out into the yard or garden.
     Please pass this around to as many people as you can. Information is the key and if people are getting bad info, they will have problems and probably fail, thus discouraging them from trying again.
Failing numerous times is not bad, failing once and never trying again is!
End of rant.
If you have any questions about this or any of my other articles, drop me an e-mail to TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com and don't forget to follow me on FACEBOOK!
Happy Growing!
Darren