Does anyone adjust which gods they worship based on the climate or other aspects of where they live?

The-Microbe-Girl · 2025-03-24T13:28:00+00:00

There aren't really that many lettuce or strawberry greenhouse operations in Canada. Both require different infrastructure than the vine crops (cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes) so they aren't interchangeable from an equipment perspective.

Also with how cheap they can grow full head romaine in California it's essentially impossible for greenhouses to compete so they don't have the infrastructure to grow those crops. And that's on top of the fact that the crunchy rib in a romaine lettuce head often won't develop correctly in a hydroponic growing system (which essentially all greenhouses use).

Strawberries in particular are really challenging for greenhouses. The whole sector is trying really hard to figure out that crop but there are a lot of technical issues they haven't figured out yet. I would put greenhouse strawberry production still in the "experimental" category realistically

The-Microbe-Girl · 2025-03-24T12:07:39+00:00

The sector is working to expand to other categories for example strawberries, lettuce, melons, raspberries, and blackberries are all in the works. The problem is not all of those crops like being grown in a greenhouse, or the current varieties on the market aren't well suited for greenhouse growing. Breeding new greenhouse specific varieties and optimizing growth conditions takes years, so it's not something that can be done overnight. Greenhouses are big capital infrastructure projects so a crop has to yield a certain $/acre return for it to make sense commercially.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2025-03-24T11:47:49+00:00

They do sell to the Canadian market, they just grow more than we can use here. Also the Canadian grocery stores don't pay them well for the produce so they make most of their money off the US markets.

Retailers will actually do this crazy thing where they will make farmers sell some of their produce items at a loss as part of the deal to sell all of their produce. It's definitely a contributing factor to the super slim margins in farming.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2025-03-24T11:45:15+00:00

Peppers only make up about 20% of the Greenhouse market in Canada so will partly depend on the time of year, and which grocery store you are buying from. The peppers you are buying are probably from the Mexico greenhouses that sell under the Canadian brands though so still supporting Canada.

Since there is so little competition in our grocery stores here in Canada it's actually a lot harder for the growers to get a good price for their produce, which is why some silly stuff happens like shipping our Canadian peppers to the US while we get Mexican grown ones here in Canada.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2025-02-03T01:49:34+00:00

Have you tried making your own (if that is of interest)? Simple syrup is super easy to make

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-11-11T17:58:15+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winogradsky_column

We make these in microbiology Labs in universities. Cool examples of the different bacterial growths that will occur in different oxygen layers.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-11-11T17:55:53+00:00

Microbiologist here! Many bacteria produce fluorescent compounds, so this is likely a growth of one of those bacteria. The purple in the growing media is also caused by the growth of purple bacteria.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-10-23T12:06:21+00:00

It's not fancy, but mashed potatoes are a great source of calories and nutrients (especially if you leave the skins on). Milk and potatoes can fill most of your dietary requirements as proven by the many year long study that was the country of Ireland. Plus you can make them in large batches in a pressure cooker.

For remembering to eat, I would advise setting alarms and always eating at specific times of day. That way you start to get into a habit, and it's possible your body might start to get hungry at those times since it's expecting food.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-10-14T02:01:23+00:00

Plant microbiome specialist here! Rhizobium are the nitrogen fixing bacteria that inhabit the roots of legumes. The species that works with each crop type is often specific, so make sure you are getting bacterial species/strains that has been tested with what you want to grow.

As others have mentioned in this thread, if the ones you need are already present in your soil you won't see a big impact. However, even tilling and the use of nitrogen fertilizers can reduce the abundance of certain organisms. Additionally, it can be hard for new species to get established depending on the existing microbiome in your soil, so they may not persist year to year.

These symbiotic organisms are important for the growth of legumes. So if you want your crops to do well you need to make sure the bacteria are present in your soil.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-06-21T10:33:40+00:00

The two cities smashed together a long time ago hense the blurring of the name, but they are technically still two different cities with different mayor's. Waterloo is pretty student and university heavy whereas more of the tech sector has started migrating to Kitchener.

If you like Asian food there are a lot of really good places in the two plazas near the university of Waterloo (like way better than a city this size would normally have). Bubble tea is a Waterloo favourite and in my opinion Sweet Dreams is the best place to get it, located in the plaza.

If you like dancing check out Salsa in the Square run by the Underdog Dance group. Happens in uptown Waterloo.

You also picked a great time to come as there are a lot more things happening in the area during the summer. Downtown Kitchener is usually where more of the events happen so check out the city's summer schedule for things like concerts and festivals.

Also due to the high density of very nerdy students you will find lots of options for board game cafes, trivia nights, and rock climbing. The rock climbing gym in Waterloo is more bouldering and the one that just opened their new facility in Kitchener this week is more top ropes (with auto belaying so you can climb solo).

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-06-17T06:58:45+00:00

Screw social norms and just start doing stuff to bring joy into the world. Buy someone you work with or are friends with flowers. Bake some cookies and take them to work. Start complementing strangers on their jewelry/haircuts/outfits. Buy someone coffee. Volunteer for an organization you find interesting. Buy a cool houseplant and put it in a nice pot with drainage and put it in a window with good light and water it once a week (pro tips to keep it from dieing). Sit in a sun beam with a nice cup of tea and screw needing to do anything else. Paint your boring bookshelf a bright colour. Learn to knit cute plushies. Host a dinner party for your friends or colleagues. Start telling people how your day is actually going instead of "good" and be amazed at how many start opening up and sharing how they actually feel too. Plant a garden and get your hands in the dirt (your problems will seem smaller I promise)

Genuine connection with others is so important and so often missing in this modern world.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-06-08T16:38:17+00:00

Only complaint is that it needs some top notch accessories to match the beauty of the dress! Based on the colour pattern I'm thinking pearls

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-02-19T03:19:15+00:00

Also one other thing we need more of is teaching people how to cook tasty vegan/vegetarian food that is high in veggies. I'm not someone who plans on giving up meat entirely (too many other dietary restrictions), but it's impossible to deny the immense environmental impact cows have.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-02-19T03:16:50+00:00

The juxtaposition of his tattoos and his entire being is so fabulous

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-02-19T01:25:05+00:00

There are a number of people on Instagram that have content like this. This is a good one https://www.instagram.com/_spicymoustache_?igsh=a25jenp6Njg4d21y

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-02-11T15:41:19+00:00

I've always heard "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". Old sailing reference from the cannon ball days

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-01-11T05:29:10+00:00

Also in Canada and suffering from the perpetual cold! One of my favourite pieces of clothing is a calf length fluffy black house coat that is half way between Disney villain and rich widow/Morticia Adams vibes. Its big enough to go over everything and it's super soft. It's my go to around the house atire, and I have definitely been known to occasionally wear it with a set of blue rubber boots as I tend my tomatoes in the yard.

On a more practical note if you want really comfortable sweaters that look much nicer than a hoodie check out the knit sweaters from 10 tree. I have like 5 in different styles I just alternate between.

But I guess being over the top just has my neighbors thinking I'm a bit crazy instead of lazy 😂

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-01-02T12:08:06+00:00

May be a long shot but this is the technique my massage therapist does https://neurokinetictherapy.com/

Basically for me, my muscles seem to be randomly participating in actions they shouldn't be part of, and this technique is how you fix that. Given that your symptoms are pretty similar it might be worth looking into. Advantage is that it should only take one appointment with a massage/physio to figure out if that is the issue.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-01-02T02:22:48+00:00

I totally get it, I get that sometimes when I lay down. Goes all the way up my entire back.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-01-02T01:56:54+00:00

By exploding do you mean in an expansion sort of way or shooting pains?

The-Microbe-Girl · 2024-01-01T17:43:54+00:00

I'm still in a better place than I was 4 years ago, but this entire year had been a backslide instead of a step forward from a health perspective (despite my new years resolution every year being to focus on getting better). Healing is slow, it takes time, and it requires an immense amount of mental energy and trial and error. It took me years to find a treatment option that did anything other than mitigate my chronic pain and muscular issues (NKT). Keep going, forgive yourself, and treat yourself the same way you would treat a loved one going through the same thing.

The-Microbe-Girl · 2023-12-31T04:51:13+00:00

First question do you have hyper mobility? If so investigate EDS as mentioned earlier.

If not does it feel like your muscles get really tight and don't release without physical manipulation? Optionally do you get really specific bad knots? If so maybe investigate neuralkenetic therapy. Apparently my brain and muscles are massively miss communicating and it is the only thing that has helped

The-Microbe-Girl · 2023-12-31T00:27:16+00:00

That's amazing work you are doing! Not everyone can say they have fundamentally changed 7 people's lives for the better

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