gardening

We had a speaker at our last Green Dream Meeting (I am the chair of this group at my church) I took these notes and thought others might want to read them.... does anyone read this blog? :)

Minutes from Green Dreams Meeting- March 23- 7 pm- Fellowship



Alice Brooks, a master gardener from the extension office, spoke for about 30 minutes. She then took questions until a little after 8. A great deal was discussed in that hour. This is an overview (the best I could do, writing quickly!)

Our next meeting will be the last Monday in April at Bailey and Justin's home, 136 SW Kendall Ave. 7 pm.

Soil:

In the Fall- Till your land and then add manure, straw, and/or compost to the section you plan to use. During the winter, the nutrients will settle as the ground freezes and thaws. I don't think you have to "double dig" if you do this... but I may be wrong.

In the Spring- do a process called "double digging". I had to draw a picture of this process.... this may help. If that sounds like too much work, you can think about a raised bed. Then you don't have to dig as deep. (but you have to build the walls) Add about 3 inches of compost (manure, grass, straw, leaves).

After you think your soil is ready, do a soil test. Dig in several places, 6-8 inches down. Stir this around in a bucket, take 2 cups to the extension office. They will want to know what you plan to grow and how big your plot is. Then they can tell you what you need to add to your soil to have the best growth. This cost $10, but right now it is FREE... they have a grant. The funding could disappear at any moment.

Some ideas on how to feed and water your garden:
Cut milk jugs and fill them with manure. Bury the thinner end near other plants. Water the jug as you water the garden. Here are other ideas for using those jugs.

Dig trenches along the edge of your garden. This will allow water to pool and keep feeding your garden. A garden needs about an inch of water each day. Tuna cans placed around your garden will help you to know when you've done enough.

A garden needs 6-8 hours of sun.

Making compost- be careful what you add to compost and mulch. Black Walnut Trees hurt many types of plants. Even the leaves. If you use grass clippings, make sure they are untreated!

Weeds-

Raised beds are easier to weed and care for.

Keep unwanted weeds and insects from your garden area by creating a mulch path. This can be done with layers of newspaper (8-10 thick), covered with hay or mulch. Straw must be "ugly" not fresh. To create ugly straw, water it and let it sit in the sun. Fresh straw will burn up your plants.

Container Gardening- After we got over laughing about this being called "pot gardening" we learned these things: If you are doing a container garden, they sell dwarf varieties that work best. She mentioned bush zucchini, little eggplants, cucumbers. You may want to use 5 gallon buckets and drill 5 holes in the bottom. It helps to add half a tomato cage to the top of this. Fill with potting soil. If you use soil that is made to "retain water", be careful because if it dries out it is BAD.


Other random tips-
Think about what you want to do with what you plant. For example, if you are canning you may want a jet star or celebrity tomato. If your are making salad you may want a big boy or better boy.

You may want to plant a wind block for your tomatoes.

Want to save money. Buy tomato plants later in the season, take off most of the leaves, and plant most of the plant under ground. This gives the plant a head start on a rooting system.

If you are not canning, you may want to plant in succession... like a bean plant once a week, so you can eat them longer.

Got Rabbits- Cheyenne pepper or pepper spray help. Can make pepper spray by mixing hot peppers and water in a Cuisinart.

Cilantro grows early and late in the planting season.

Basil grows in hot weather. Plant in the middle of May.

Cut worms can ruin your plants. Think about using a toilet paper roll around the base of your plants... paper works too.

If you are canning, get a good pressure cooker.

She said that www.ksu.edu is a great website for gardening questions.

links

I have finally put some work on my etsy page.... check it out.

I have also discovered a blog that I love. This is so great and so random. I want to start a fun-a-day project.... maybe this summer!

eco-friendly birthday

This was the "earth minute" at sunday's service...

"Today marks several birthdays for our fellow UU friends. With that in
mind, we thought it was time for a green birthday minute. Here are a
few ideas:

If you throw a party, try to skip the paper plates, plastic table
clothes, and streamers! Get creative with your decorations…. What is
in your recycle bin? Online invitations are easy and also help
cutback on waste. If party favors are on the list, you could include
seeds or bulbs with other natural, eco friendly gifts.

Giving a gift? What about planting a tree, re-gifting something, or
wrapping with a re-used gift bag or today's comics!

We want you to enjoy your day… without making the earth pay!"

We tried to "put our money where our mouth is" as they say....

decorations with recycled goods


we requested re-used gifts... which willow is enjoying!


This doll was a HUGE hit!


We found these letters at a thrift store in Hays years ago... they have been used over and over again. I wish I could say the cupcakes were fair trade and organic... maybe next year!

Mail for Kassy

I make Kassy really great mail. This one was made only with things I could find on my desktop. What can you find? Clearly I need to clean my desk more! I had to document this one before it leaves my hands.

I do this every week... and I love it. It is fun to come up with the next way to let her know we love her. I hate that we have to mail things to communicate. I hate that she won't talk on the phone. I hate that I never really hear what she thinks of these things... or if she even reads them (sometimes they say a little more than this one). I hope that she keeps them. I would love to see them again some day... when this is all far behind us. When we can simply reach out and give her a hug to let her know we love her.

Ahh... but I do enjoy the creations.

willow's first year

Make a Smilebox greeting

priceline

I love priceline. Not only am I staying on Michigan Ave (chicago) next month for $80 a night, I have just secured a fancy hotel room in Minneapolis for the convention I am attending in March. That hotel room is costing my $60 a night. With fees, it is just under $350. In the same hotel, for the same dates, I had a reservation at $180 a night. I received a grant to attend this convention, if it wasn't for priceline, I'd have spent the whole grant just on the hotel, the same hotel. We may not have been able to go, as we still needed to pay for gas, parking, and food. Ahh, priceline is my friend. I'm getting very excited for these working vacations!

taxes

Justin and I traveled to Lawrence to get our taxes done yesterday. We go to this tiny, dingy office about a block from Borders. Jill and I went there the 2nd year of owning the Olive.... after paying a lot at H+R block for some fancy office with coffee the first year. I've gone back every year since... so like maybe 6 years. At this tiny office, a man named Jerradd takes care of us. He works like a mad man, and always has a line of people waiting. He takes calls one after the next for appointments. This place is a gem. Jerrad is a gem! Each year he deals with us not always having the right form or paper.... he makes calls. He lets us call in with additional numbers or information. He treats us well.

For as long as I've been employed, I have never seen a refund. I didn't really understand why people got excited about this... how could it be that big of a deal? Well... this year, with making a little less thanks to my maternity leave and Justin staying home with Willow... and being able to claim 2 children.. I have heard the words refund. And I now understand just how BIG a deal it can be. Our credit card will be paid off in full, thank you government. We have carried a HIGH balance on that thing for years and years. Wow. It still doesn't seem possible. Can any of you explain how I can get back more than I pay in? How do low-income folks use this windfall of cash? Is there not a better way for the government to do this? Well... this year we won't get to Play with these funds... but I'm already dreaming of next years refund... vacation? :)