Issue #154
July 2005
Out back, in the garden...
Book of the Month!
Garden Monthly!
To Ponder
Growing Community
Closing Comments
Garden Notes Archives
WELCOME !!
New Garden Notes Subscribers!!! And you die hards!
It's the middle of JULY already!! This summer is just whizzing by...
Okay, in March, I moved to Oregon. In June, I moved back to Oklahoma. (Don't ask!)
So I am living vicariously, as I told you, through everyone else in my life that
gardens. Namely, my uncle, who I have seen only
twice briefly since arriving back home.
I have a new home (all 852 square feet of it!) with a very large yard, big enough
for the dogs to share with the garden... I no longer have use of a tiller and
have nothing but a yard of Bermuda grass. Can anyone say 'double digging'?
Get thee behind me that evil idea of "being the change you want to see" as Bob
Waldrop said, writing about his adventure
being 'without' a vehicle when it was stolen for a few days...) I just can't wait
{{ shutter }} to get this garden spot made!
And moving from a 1700 sq ft home with three teenagers out in the country
to a (did I mention small!) house in town where I can ride a bike to
school, (thanks MOM!) and now only one teenager at home, you'd think that life
would be simpler, right? (Argh) Well, maybe once I find a place for everything!
Garage Sale anyone?
Ooooooh and speaking of getting rid of things (or finding
treasure!) Check out http://freecycle.org/
The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe.
It's a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free
in their own towns. Each local group is run by a local volunteer moderator.
Membership is free.
Our Success Story this month comes from right here
in Oklahoma again! Wow! The work involved was big and the help even more so!
Floored me! how she got those boys to dig that hole!
We are still looking for August! So take some pictures, you can always
let me know (later) what you've been doing!
Remember, since February,
we've been posting all our newly added pages to Garden Simply in the newsletter
for the review of all interested. This has been so successful at keeping our
subscribers up to date, that we've decided to do away with the "Featured Article"
section. We'll just keep pertinent information in the
"Out Back in the Garden" section.
Happy Reading!
Did you know... A person uses more household energy shaving with a hand
razor at a sink (because of the water power, the water pump, and so on)
than he/she would by using an electric razor? Did someone get paid to do that
research? Evidently no one ever shaved while they were out camping!
Please take a minute and check out the nursery.
There is still PLENTY of time to plant perennials, plan for your fall garden...
and speaking of fall (it is inevitable) you'll want to be
ordering those fall bulbs soon!!
I found this and I'm afraid it's another must have for my kitchen. I am sooo
lazy about taking things out to the compost pile. This I HAD to have, it really
makes it more fun to compost when you've got your own container to put things
in JUST for the compost. I really like it in the cobalt blue! (Matches my new kitchen!)
Handsome Crock Stores Food Scraps, Stops Odors
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Collecting kitchen scraps for composting shouldn't detract from your kitchen
décor. This sleek ceramic crock is attractive enough to keep on the kitchen
counter, so there is no need to hide it under the sink. Glazed inside and out,
the crock will never stain or absorb food odors, and it has an activated
carbon filter to trap odors.
- Dishwasher safe.
- Smooth sides won't trap waste.
- Includes 2 carbon filters that last up to 2 months each.
- Replacement filters available separately.
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Out back, in the garden...
Okay, it's the July and we are officially into the 'dog days' of summer.
But as the sun begins to go down and I take a walk through what I have growing,
it's a mosaic of scent. I love to just slightly pinch the mint as I drift
through.. that fragrance lingers in the still summer air... and I snip a few
leaves to bring in with me for tea later... hmmm peppermint.
Pinching the tops of the basil — to help the plants grow leafier — fills the
air with its sweet aroma. There are so many scents to savor — pungent
tomato and marigold leaves; and the Mexican Heather... I don't want to go in.
I just want to pitch a tent right here and live in this moment for a long, long
time. If only the mosquitoes and the chiggers were not as quick to enjoy me as
I am enjoying my garden!
It was cooler than usual for longer than usual this year in lots of places.
Don't forget to use the monthly reminders. Go
forward or backward as best fits your area and local weather.
PRIORITY LIST
Water containers daily, vegetable gardens and first season landscape plants two
times a week, and everything else about once a week. An even level of moisture
in the top 6 -12 inches of soil is important for fast growing vegetables and
for shallow-rooted plants like azalea and blueberry. Give your garden one-inch
of water per week, applied exactly where needed using a drip system or soaker hose.
Harvest herbs and veggies on a regular basis.
Start fall transplants, including pansies, broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale,
cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. This is also a good time to start biennials
and perennials from seed, such as foxglove and hollyhock, for planting out this fall.
Replant summer crops at the very beginning of the month, both flowers and
vegetables, to get top production through fall. Plan ahead, though -- you will
need space for fall plantings.
5 Reasons Why You Should Preserve
Are You Missing Out?
Preserving fresh fruits has been around for centuries. Amazingly, many
cultures took advantage of the force of the blazing sun and wind or the frigid
arctic temperatures to preserve food. Even our recent colonial ancestors
knew the importance of preserving and that abundant times would soon
be followed by desperately lean times. Today however, with
the luxury of commercially bought foods, preserving takes on a knew
meaning of it's own. What are the top 5 reason why you
should preserve?
- It's Fun and Rewarding
If you think gardening is enjoyable,
try you're hand at preserving. Every gardener knows that
anything worth having is worth working for. After a long
season of growing, preserving is a breeze. Whether it's
popping open a jar of homemade bread & butter pickles, snacking
on dried tomatoes or pulling out homegrown blueberries for blueberry
pie, the rewards are endless. It won't take long to realize
that preserving is as rewarding as gardening itself.
- It's Healthy
Fresh fruits and vegetables begin
to lose nutrients within hours of being picked. By preserving
fruits and vegetables immediately after picking them, you maximize
the nutritional content of everything you preserve. You
won't find that at the grocery store.
- It Saves Money
What better way to use all of the
excess that your garden grows than to stock-pile it in your freezer
or pantry saving you tons of money at the grocery store.
- No Additives
If you grow it organic from the
seed and preserve it by hand, you can be sure and feel at ease
that there are no harmful additives in the foods you eat.
- Extend the Harvest
It doesn't have to end in the fall. Know that once gardening season is over,
you can still pull out fresh garden goodies from your pantry or
freezer. Just enough to get you through a gardenless winter
and hold you over to the next growing season.
Check out these new articles too!
How to Store Root Crops
Using Root Cellars to Preserve Vegetables
Compost Alert
This is a good time for "solarizing" your soil, a beneficial practice for weed
and pathogen control. Read more for a description, and
other organic ways to control weeds.
Turn your compost at least once this month.
Mulch all bare soil areas with 2-4 inches of mulch to keep moisture in and weeds out.
Composting will...
- Save you money by lowering garbage bills and replacing the need for commercial soil amendments.
- Increase production by improving the fertility and health of your soil.
- Save water by helping the soil hold moisture and reducing water runoff.
- Benefit the environment by recycling valuable organic resources and extending the lives of our landfills.
Just make sure that you get one started if you haven't already. It's the lifeblood
of your garden! Not sure where to start? Learn to Compost.
Need an entire compost primer?
Check out our
Master Series Gardening Courses!
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B O O K O F T H E M O N T H
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The Organic Salad Garden
Joy Larkcom's Salad Garden is one of the most influential gardening
books ever published. It has been fully revised and updated as the Organic
Salad Garden. It contains everything you need to know about growing salad
plants including...
- All aspects of salad gardening from site preparation to harvesting.
- Special techniques for growing over 200 familiar and exotic salad plants.
- Emphasis on organic methods to achieve high yields in limited space.
>> Buy It!
G A R D E N M O N T H L Y
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Check out what goes on in the sustainable garden
in the month of July!
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T O P O N D E R
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I read this somewhere last week...
Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height.
In
human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft.
into the air.
They say we only use ten percent of our brains...
I wonder how much of us only use ten percent of our muscle?
G R O W I N G C O M M U N I T Y
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For the next few months, we'll be putting information in this section of
Garden Notes for all who have requested information on community gardening
and buying locally. Do you know of any events you'd like to share??
This month we spotlight
The Nanaimo Community Gardens Society
The Nanaimo Community Garden maintains educational and therapeutic
gardens, as well as common land for all those who wish to get involved.
Ideal for renters and those without gardens, participants can grow food
co-operatively with others, or cultivate a plot of land of their own to grow
fresh, organic, food.
They offer free compost demonstrations and organic plant sales; community
gardens meetings and potlucks. They also have a Harvest Festival
Saturday Oct 15 and Sunday Oct 16. They said it was so much fun in the past
that this year they have turned it into a two day event!
They have some nice recipes on their website and a wonderful
photo gallery
in case you'd like to see what they're doing. They also have a strong
Food Share Community.
We at GardenSimply would like to encourage anyone that has strong feelings
about getting our food in a healthful and local way to support their local
food coops and community gardens.
Want to find one in your state?
See the list!
You don't HAVE a community garden where you live?
Then START ONE!
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C L O S I N G C O M M E N T S
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Don't forget your
FREE Gift!!
Just for our {{ subscribers!! }}... it's timely and it's cute!
We have big goals for Garden Simply!
Each area of the world has its own unique challenges to gardening.
We promise you, our readers; to continue to add to our
reading room as much a variety of accurate and
informative help we can to aide you in your pursuits toward a sustainable
lifestyle.
Your future is very much in your own hands and we hope to help all to see that
the task at hand is very 'do' able! "Every journey starts with a single step...."
Walk the road to sustainability... nothing gives more peace of mind than to be
able to supply your own needs.
We are pleased to offer products from one of the largest, most dependable, and
easiest places to navigate on the web,
Gardener's Supply Company.
They offer simply everything you'll need to get done what you want to get done.
We incur expenses every month making Garden Simply a truly valuable internet
resource and with you visiting our sponsors, it will help keep us single
moms at home with our children and help us all get through school!
Thank you for your support!
One last note before the quote! We have joined an a new eZine directory called
Cumuli.com If you like
Garden Notes, would you take a minute and please vote for us! Thanks so much!
Until next month, remember the words of Aristotle ....
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to
entertain a thought without accepting it."
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S U B S C R I P T I O N M A N A G M E N T
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HELP OUT YOUR FRIENDS - - - - - -
People you care about can take charge of their garden by effectively using the
information and resources available at Garden Simply, help them learn how -
forward them a copy
of this month's Garden Notes.
Let GardenSimply help you with a plan of action
for YOUR garden every month!
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