It was a first rate experience for me. I'm still scribbling my serious thoughts about Comic-Con but I thought I'd post the few pictures I actually managed to remember to snap. (I definitely gotta get better at that!)
Above is the Takahara family. They bought a copy of "A Gift Comes!"one day at the con and apparently when they returned to their room Angela cracked the covers and started reading. The rest of the family dozed off for the night and Angela read the entire volume in one sitting before going off to slumberland. The entire family came by the next day and we all happily chatted up the Beanworld experience. Angela flipped through my notebook of original art and named and explained all the characters and what they do in the book. In the morning her dad asked her to explain Beanworld to him and she said "It's easier to read than explain." 9 times out of 10 that's about the best I can do myself and say the exact same thing.
Paula came by with her pink Walkman Bean MP3 player that she asked me to transmute into a Beanworld Action Figure MP3 player. Which I happily did and in the process accidentally came up with the next model of FREE Beanworld Action Figure.
Speaking of FREE Beanworld Action Figures. ZOMBIES were a big, big hit. I couldn't keep 'em in stock. More on Zombies in the next post.
Thanks for the correction....it was hard to read Angela's handwriting it was a 50/50 chance of being a lower case N or an H!
Thanks for posting the pictures of Angela and our family. It was actually beanworld book 2: the gift comes! Angela, Cami and I had already read book 1 together before SDCC.
It was wondeful for us to talk to you. Thank you for sketching in my self-portrait sketchbook. And thank you for creating beanworld.
Thanks for the clarifications. I have to say...after all those days of Comic-Con all the memories start to blur.
I picked up my copy of A Gift Comes this week at my local comic shop, so it's finally out. Yay, happy!
Unlike Wahoolazuma, there were bits in here I didn't remember at all. I know I had all the issues but I mustn't have re-read them as often. It was almost like getting new Beanworld, which I wasn't expecting until later this fall when Remember hits.
Normally, reading stuff for the week, graphic novels fall to the bottom of the pile to be read last. Beanworld was at the top, and I didn't touch anything else until it was complete. I've got the two volumes side-by-side now and they look fantastic together, and I can't wait to put Remember beside them to make the start of a Beanworld library. I'm just not sure where to file the special from last Christmas.
There are many people who’d like to have their own organic garden, but not many take the time to actually create one. Fear of failure, given the great care and consideration that must go into it, often scare people away. Read through this article and you can gain better insight on what it takes to start and grow your own organic garden; it’s not as hard as it may seem.
Water infused with aspirin is great for combating plant disease. One and half tablets of aspirin in a couple gallons of water will be a wonderful help to the plants you have. Then spray your plants with this mixture to stave off diseases. Use this method every three weeks.
Your children can help you with your garden. Toiling together in the garden brings your family closer together and offers many different opportunities to learn new things and instill green values.
Plants growing in your home need a constant temperature of no less than 65 degrees. The plants need this temperature in order to effectively grow. These temperatures may not be comfortable for you, however. As an alternative to keeping your entire home that warm, consider getting heat lamps for your organic plants.
Be sure to plant some strawberries for your children and grandchildren. Ever-bearing ones are especially nice. A lot of children not only love to pick out their own fruit but they also love to learn about it as well.
Have your gardening tools near you to minimize the time spent searching for them. Carry a large bucket with you or wear pants with a lot of pockets. A gardener’s tool belt will allow you to keep your gardening gloves and other tools close by while you are working in your garden.
It can be extremely fast and easy to plant perennials into your garden. With a garden spade, slice under the dirt then flip it over. Next, spread out wood chips several inches deep. Wait for a few weeks and plant new perennials in this area.
After your seeds have sprouted, heat lamps are not needed. Move your plants away from the heat as they grow. Uncover your containers; the plastic wrap traps humidity, so you need to remove it to stop your plants from overheating. Watching your plants as they grow will give you the insight on when to employ these tactics.
You should add a two to three inch layer of organic mulch to your flower bed. Not only will you be adding nutrients, but weeds will be less likely to grow and moisture will be retained more easily. Your flower beds should also look beautiful all year long.
To avoid tracking the mud and dirt that will get on your gardening shoes, use plastic bags. This allows you to maintain your flow so you can rapidly get back to your gardening.
You should work efficiently, instead of working hard in your garden, to simplify things. Don’t spend 30 minutes searching for a tool. In addition to keeping your gardening tools in one location, you should also clean your tools after each use. Even something like a carpenter’s tool belt or some cargo jeans work well to keep tools organized.
Mix used coffee grounds into your soil. These coffee grounds have many nitrogenous nutrients that your plants could use. Plants need an adequate nitrogen source in order to thrive. Adding coffee grounds, chemical fertilizer, or diluted urea to your soil increases the soil’s nitrogen content and will help to make your plants grow faster, taller and healthier.
Have some plastic bags on hand that you can put over your gardening shoes if they are muddy. This helps the flow keep going so that you can get into the garden quickly to finish what you’re doing.
Spacing is one of the primary considerations when planning an organic garden. You can easily underestimate how much space the plants need until they begin to grow. Beyond just the physical space that the plants will need, you should also consider the airflow that the plants will require. Plant the plants appropriately when it comes to spacing the seeds.
Try not to let the chores associated to your organic garden build up. Even doing just a few small things each day can keep chores from piling up and eventually becoming unmanageable. This will save you a lot of time in the long run. For example, pull a few weeds if you’re outside and waiting for your dog to finish his business.
Pine can make a great mulch. Some plants are highly acidic, and like soil that is acidic too. If you have these plants in your garden, keep them healthy by using pine needles as mulch. Sprinkle the pine needles over your beds. As the needles decompose, they add to the acid level in the soil.
Lightly ruffle your seeds by hand or with cardboard, twice daily in your organic garden. However odd this may sound, research shows that this touching encourages seedlings to grow better than they would without touching.
Spacing is an important factor to consider when planting your garden. Plants take up quite a bit of space as they grow, and it’s easy to underestimate just how much. Your plants will need the space not only because of their physical size, but also because the space will provide air circulation for the garden. Plan accordingly and put an appropriate amount of distance between seeds.
To be able to say you have legitimate organic and credible crops, you will need to be certified as having an organic garden. This will up your sales and prove to your loyal customers that what they have been getting is only the best that you possibly could get.
You may find an old plastic laundry basket ideal for gathering vegetables from your garden. This will be like a strainer for all your produce. If you leave your produce in the basket while rinsing it, the basket will be able to serve as a strainer, with the extra water dripping out the holes in the bottom of the basket.
Organic gardening is a high-risk, high-reward activity compared to normal gardening, but the rewards certainly are sweet. Growing organic is healthier and just overall better for you. Make sure you try your best to grow organic as opposed to adding chemicals to your garden.
A rule of thumb for when you are planting seeds in containers is to make the hole depth around three times larger than the seed itself. However, it is important to understand that some seeds require sunlight and should never be covered. Typical examples are petunias and ageratum. If you are unsure about the specific needs of your seeds, you should consult your local garden center or conduct further research online. Important things to look for include water requirements, ideal soil type, and recommended sunlight exposure.
Your soil will be healthier if you add mulch. The mulch will protect the soil underneath it. On hot days, mulch insulates the ground, keeping it cool and protecting your plants’ roots. It helps the soil retain moisture longer by reducing the evaporation rate. This can also help control any weeds.
The simple beer trap is still one of the best methods of ridding your organic garden of slugs. First, place a glass canning jar in the soil, burying it until the mouth is even with the surface of the soil. Pour enough beer into the jar to fill it below an inch from the top. Slugs are attracted by the beer and won’t be able to exit the jar once they enter.
Too much water may hurt plants since extra water can keep roots from getting the nutrients they need from the soil. Always check to see if rain is in the forecast before watering your plants. If a downpour is coming, you may want to forgo watering your plants that day.
You can make a raised bed with untreated wood, brick, or stone. Be sure to use wood that is naturally resistant to rotting and that has not been treated. The best varieties include cedar, locust and cypress wood. Consider the chemicals that will leach out of the wood before choosing anything that has been treated. Remember the affect that such chemicals will have on your plants and soil. If you are already using treated lumber, you can use plastic liners, or a different barrier, in order to protect your garden.
Organic foods do not possess any pesticides on them. This is great for the health of your family, but you will still have to regularly check your plants for bugs and pests.
Any type of gardening can be a fun hobby because it brings you closer to the earth, but creating an organic garden is really good at this. This method of gardening will give you a deep understanding of the way plants grow, from beginning to end.
To get your garden off to a great start check below the surface! Tomato seedlings with green starts and poor root systems are something to watch out for. Look carefully at these before purchasing them for your garden. Reason being, these kinds of starts stay attached to the seedlings for many weeks, which causes the seedlings to not grow until the starts are gone.
Rotating plots of garden has been done for centuries, and there is good reason for that! Fungus and diseases will appear if you have the same kind of plants in the same place from one year to the next. Harmful things may take root in the soil, preparing to take over your garden. By mixing things up and planting in various spots, you will be able to keep disease and fungus at bay.
Do some research on botanical insecticides, as they can be effective in controlling pests. You can find more power from natural insecticides, as opposed to engineered synthetic pesticides. The distinguishing factor of botanical varieties is that they will decay much more quickly and will be eliminated from your environment faster.
Get to the root of the matter! Even if the plant looks lush on the upper leaves, the root system can have problems. You want to take note of this because starts like this will prohibit seedling growth.
If you want to consistently grow healthy tomatoes, wait three weeks between planting each set. When you stagger your planting in this manner, your tomato plants will not be in bloom all at once, meaning you have fresh tomatoes for longer. Also, if something goes wrong during one harvest, all your tomatoes won’t be ruined.
If you plant tomatoes, make sure you plant a second batch roughly three weeks after the first ones were done. The reason for this is because it helps to prevent the entire harvest from producing all at once. Furthermore, this method protects you in the event that your first batch doesn’t thrive as expected.
When you use the advice that has been provided in this article, you should feel confident in your gardening skills and be able to grow an amazing garden. Apply the wisdom you have learned here to your home and yard, and you can enjoy pure wholesome foods in your kitchen in not time at all.
One of the first things you need to learn about organic gardening is how to properly prepare flower beds. Begin by slicing beneath the turf using a spade. Once that is done, turn it over and cover with about three to four inches of mulch. After several weeks, you can begin to cut in it, then plant.