Posts by GMXam

  • Travel videos

    So far, two family member cases, two friends of friends who’ve not survived, and have many (over 40, now) colleagues in NYC who have contracted COVID-19 or family members have, some having not survived. This virus seems to have affected those who don’t have an ability to remain at home for work disproportionately.


    As for AR trips, no idea, yet. We’re keeping a close eye on how things are going.


    Michigan sounds nice. I drove through Algonac on the way in from Canada. Beautiful drive.

  • Travel videos

    Past nine months have been a blur...while in AR last half of 2019, we were in BA, drove to La Cumbre, Córdoba; and from there road tripped the remaining provinces of AR that we hadn’t visited (see graphic). We walked across the border in Formosa to Paraguay, and mostly checked out each town we stayed in by foot. It was about a two-week drive back to BA. Altogether, we love Argentina.


    We left AR in late December, and then I was off to the UK and Canada for business. When Canada began talking about closing borders with the US, I hit the road back to the Lone Star by car. How about you?

  • Travel videos

    Las Arañas en el Estero (Parque Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina)

    November 25th, 2019: Evening boat ride through the wetlands, passing under some very large spiders.

  • Travel videos

    Southern Right Whales in Puerto Madryn

    November 17, 2014 during high tide (around 4:15pm) three Southern Right Whales swimming together when a gull lands on one; then it speaks for us

  • Buenos Aires giving out energy efficient light bulbs

    Thanks for the update! This will be one of my first stops when we return.

  • Green thumbs?

    I’ve recently taken to growing plants for eating which are easy to maintain, are hardy, and can grow in containers or smaller raised beds. Kale is pretty easy and harvested once a week when matured (a few leaves per plant). They’ll be sitting on a full sun balcony. I do have aphids due to treetops being near our balcony. With the expanding access of headshops in the area, I can easily find neem oil, which I dilute with water and a half a drop of soap to spray the plants. This seems to keep them at bay.


    I don’t spend a lot of time on it, so the time I do spend is enjoyable, thankfully.


    The issue with chemical use in AR is pretty sad. Mal Comidos, by Soledad Barruti, informs about the issues of lack of regulation and/or enforcement. On a personal level, I try to reduce the amount of chemicals I buy or use. I also try to limit buying from heavy chemical users...researching this is easier in theory.

  • Green thumbs?

    Thanks, Rice. I used to start with seeds (several years ago, when I was attached to Texas with land), but since selling my house I have shied away from edible plants due to my transitory lifestyle.


    I recently started seeds in a former wine cabinet using a couple of grow lights hanging over my seeding tray (see below).



    This particular light bulb is LED and emits 650 lumens at 9 Watts (not quite enough for growing plants but enough to get germination going). The light is placed 2-3 inches from the seeding tray. After 4 days, the kale has sprouted (the three rows of sprouts).



    The seedlings (image below) are today just shy of two weeks old (by one day). From left to right, basil, oregano, 3 rows of kale (these were all planted the same day... kale germinates within a couple of days and is pretty easy to maintain..very hardy plant, and harvest leaves every couple of days once fully mature, as early as 45 days), and a row of newly planted spaghetti squash seeds (will likely take a couple of weeks to germinate). These seedlings will have their first fish fertilizer in a couple of days. That will give them another boost for a week before I transplant the kale into Starbucks cups (not my addiction, but I’ll use the plastic cups).



    I’ll post a pic of the balcony set up when I get it done. Like I said, due to travel lifestyle, these have to be planted with portability in mind. Since we are in the US right now, these will take a trip to the family’s house when we head back to BA. I’ll likely do the same in BA, and ask a friend to care for them and eat or give away the harvested goods while we are away.

  • Green thumbs?

    Nice list, serafina! I love jazmín. In Buenos Aires, we would be growing off of our balcony. It is northwest facing, so we get sunlight there for about 5-7 hours depending on the season. My plan is to create a raised garden bed on the floor of the balcony along the wall side, maybe 0.3m X 2m and the rest would be containers. The dripping air conditioner would do some of the watering via wicking system at the base of the garden beds. This would mean I could only place plants in the bed that like moist to semi-moist soil. The others would be in containers.


    I’d like to have berries, too, although that would require a bush probably too heavy for a balcony. I’m not entirely comfortable putting more weight than I can see my neighbors doing on our balcony. Visions of Mar Del Plata are not where I am aiming.

  • Green thumbs?

    Saludos!


    I’m wondering if there are any gardeners on the forum. If so, what do you grow? Where are your favorite places for supplies, seeds, compost, fertilizer, earthworms, etc? Any interest in seed exchanges? I know of one other gardener in the expat community (London2baires).


    I’ve recently started some seedlings in the US soon to be transferred to raised beds on the terrace, which gets full sun for 8-10 hours. Since we travel for several months per year, these raised beds are portable per .3 square meter (total of 0.3 X 3 meters in total) and several large pots. My family will graciously take them in and benefit from their harvest while we are away.


    I’ve started kale, oregano, sweet potato slips, and basil. Currently in germination are sugar snap peas and spaghetti squash. Next up for germination are marjoram, marigolds, rosemary, cilantro, wheatgrass, and peppers.


    I’d like to do some gardening while in Argentina, too, but have yet to seriously give it a go. If you do garden, what is your garden like?

  • Howdy!

    Hi guys! I like the new look of the forum. Thanks to seeing Splinter's update in social media, I've re-found this gem.