RutgersButterfly gardens include specific plants and features. Here, a Monarch butterfly perches with a bee on blooming tithonia, also known as Mexican sunflower.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension office in Middlesex County will present the workshop “Attracting Birds Butterflies to You Garden” at 6:30 p.m. May 9 at the EARTH Center in Davidson’s Mill Pond Park, 42 Riva Ave, South Brunswick.

As part of the EARTH Center’s 2012 gardening workshop series, Rutgers Master Gardener Dale Duchai will teach participants what plants and features can be added to their yards to make them desirable to local winged wildlife. Attendees will learn the value of native plants, and what plants will attract what types of butterflies. This practical workshop is designed for the beginner or intermediate gardener.

There is a $20 fee for the two-hour workshop, which includes classroom and outdoor instruction. Class size will be limited, and registration is required by May 7. For more information, call (732) 398-5262.

The EARTH Center workshop series presents dedicated gardeners with valuable educational opportunities with area experts. The classes provide horticultural information to those unable to commit to the rigors of a Rutgers Master Gardener training program.

One theme for the Flagler Master Gardener’s Spring Fling at the FlaglerCounty Extension Service on Saturday was “You don’t need a plot to eat a lot.”

The master gardeners’ open house featured tours of the gardens around the extension service, a plant sale, drawings for donated prizes, tasty treats made by the gardeners and three programs during the day.

Although the Spring Fling is an annual event, programs are different each year.

“Louise (Leister) and I get together and talk about what we didn’t cover in our Spring series,” horticulture program assistant Ruth Micieli said. “We do try to change it up so we don’t keep doing the same thing over and over.”

According to Barbara Barajas and Carol Sutton of Palm Coast, a little repetition can be a good thing. They’ve been coming to these events since 2003.

“We come every spring and fall,” Barajas said. “Even though there’s sometimes some minor repetition, that’s how you remember it. After you’ve been coming years and years, it sinks in really well and the handouts are great. It’s always worth coming.”

This year Leister, water environmental education program coordinator, opened the day with a program on container gardening.

“I don’t think anyone in Flagler County has more pots and containers than I do,” Leister said. “It’s a wonderful way to garden.”

Leister explained advances in potting soil, particularly those that have moisture beads, have improved container gardening in Florida.

“Years ago before they came out with the moisture control soils, the plants would dry out really severely in our climate, especially if you lived in an area that had high winds where the plants baked,” she said. “It was a tough environment to grow. These days, many plants are quite happy in pots rather than in the ground.”

In addition matching species with compatible growing requirements, Leister offered a more basic tip for growing plants in containers.

“It’s extremely important that you don’t put too many plants in a pot, because as they grow they can overgrow the container in a really short period of time,” Leister said. “I call it the St. Bernard rule. Remember that when you pot little plants they may be little St. Bernards – when they grow they will be exploding out the sides of the container.”

Leister also recommends larger containers over small pots.

“Little pots do not work in Florida.” she said. “You need decent sized containers for a combination of plants. If you’re going to spend the time and money on it you want to make sure the containers are large enough.”

However, once rocks for drainage and soil is added, larger pots are heavier and harder to move. Styrofoam offers a couple of ways to lighten the load.

“There are some gorgeous Styrofoam pots that are a lot lighter,” Leister said. “Instead of rocks on the bottom you can use Styrofoam peanuts, and that will give you some relief from the weight. Remember not to use the green ones, they have an antibacterial which will kill the roots of your plant. Also, don’t use the biodegradable ones that turn to mush when you wet them.”

During the second program master gardener Robert Tabit gave a lively demonstration on how to turn a plastic 55-gallon drum into a quick rain barrel with just a few tools and a couple of inexpensive parts.

“This is not rocket science,” Tabit said. “The hardest part today about making a rain barrel today is getting the barrel. You’re supposed to use barrels made of food grade plastic. If you don’t want to make a rain barrel you can buy one, I’ve seen them for $85 and up.”

One tip Tabit had on cleaning the barrel once you’ve removed the top is to take it to a self-serve car wash.

Master gardener Julia Wilson then took over on how to decorate a rain barrel. Using permanent magic marker, spray paint and decorative paint suitable for plastic.

“I’m not an artist; this is not fine art,” Wilson said. “You can even get the kids or grand kids out there. It’s children’s art. It’s fun.”

Micieli closed the day with a session on creating an edible landscape.

“You can use edible plants as part of the landscape,” Micieli said as she discussed fruit trees, berries and vegetables. “It’s one way to help save money in the long run. It’s also very good exercise.”

Before starting, Micieli recommended making a plan.

“Put it on paper beforehand,” Micieli said. “It’s always cheaper to put it on paper than after it’s in the ground. We don’t recommend planting in Florida soil for most plants; we always encourage people to use raised beds or containers.”

1:00 AM

Saturday events will celebrate gardening

BY MECHELE COOPER Staff Writer

BY MECHELE COOPER

Staff Writer

It’s the first year Alden Longfellow Greenhouses in Farmingdale will participate in the third annual Greenhouse and Nursery Day on Saturday.

About 45 family-owned greenhouses and nurseries will hold special events on Saturday to highlight the joy of gardening.

The event, sponsored by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, includes giveaways, door prizes, raffles, plants and balloons for children, container-planting demonstrations, personal tours, expert speakers and mini-workshops.

Amy Allen, agricultural program specialist with the department, said participating greenhouses and nurseries also will preview spring introductions and share their expertise by offering gardening tips, information on plant varieties and ideas for window box and landscape design.

The family-owned Alden Longfellow Greenhouse is at 249 Litchfield Rd.

“We’re going to have some refreshments and hope to set up a couple workshops to learn about gardening, maybe gardening basics, and have music from local artists,” said Bill Alden of Alden Longfellow Greenhouse. “It’s a little celebration that planting season has begun and that’s exciting.”

Walter Whitcomb, the state’s agriculture commissioner, said the special day allows Maine to showcase the importance of horticulture to the state’s agricultural economy.

In addition to providing thousands of jobs, the horticulture industry pumps more than $280 million into our state’s economy, he said.

“More than half of the plants sold in Maine are grown right here, and our greenhouses and nurseries work hard to promote the sale of their product locally,” Whitcomb said. “I hope Mainers will take advantage of the opportunity to visit their local garden centers on May 5 and enjoy the wonderful fun and educational events being offered.”

Allen said the department licenses and inspects more than 1,260 businesses selling plants in Maine.

It also certifies plant exports, regulates imported plants and assists growers with plant pest problems.

Maine Greenhouse and Nursery Day is supported by the Ornamental Horticulture Council and the Mid-Maine Greenhouse Growers Association.

For more information about Maine Greenhouse and Nursery Day, go to http://www.plants4maine.com/GreenhouseAndNurseryDay.shtml.

Mechele Cooper — 621-5663

mcooper@centralmaine.com

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Spring is in the air and on kitchen tables all over the valley as area residents celebrate warm, sunny days, the first garden crops and the opening of area farmers markets.

With the movement toward healthier and “greener” living gaining traction, it’s no wonder that eating and growing fresh produce has achieved such popularity.

While we on the West Coast can take credit for launching the edible garden craze, the rest of the nation is quickly catching on to this delicious and nutritionally beneficial trend that allows for the joy of growing fresh edibles.

Just when we could use it, here to help gardeners enjoy a healthier lifestyle is the “Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook” with detailed gardening advice and more than 180 recipes using luscious homegrown fruits and vegetables.

Just added to online inventories and bookstore shelves, this cookbook combines Sunset magazine’s fast recipes with practical gardening tips that will garner beautiful, delicious produce year after year all across the country, not only here near its home base.

Sunset has inspired millions of readers to partake in food that is not only great-tasting, but also intrinsically healthy. Thus, with this useful follow-up to the “Western Garden Book of Edibles,” Sunset shows step by step how to cultivate a garden, celebrate the season’s bounty and enjoy healthy recipes using garden-fresh produce at the dinner table.

In addition to color photographs accompanying inviting recipes for everything from tomatoes to corn, peas to lettuces, the “Edible Garden Cookbook” includes harvesting and storage tips to help identify the right way to pick and preserve freshness.

Nutritional data comes with every recipe and is given for each crop, too.

“When you have a garden filled with great ingredients, your cooking starts to revolve around whatever is ripest and best that day,” writes Margo True, Sunset’s food editor, in the introduction to the new book.

“So we’ve organized this cookbook around the crops themselves, starting with vegetables, pausing for herbs and finishing with fruits.

“Each recipe is designed to celebrate the flavor and beauty of homegrown produce and the work that went into raising it. That’s why we’ve kept the cooking simple.”

True notes that for every vegetable or fruit, “we list basic ways to cook it — steam, roast, sauté and so on. With these techniques as your guide, you can season the food any way you like and create your own recipes.

“Or you can choose from the full-blown recipes that follow, many of which were inspired by the test garden here at Sunset.”

The Sunset food editor says one of her favorite parts of the new book is the “Extra Reward” section in a number of the chapters, “which tells you how to use the less familiar parts of a plant — radish leaves, for instance, they’re mild-tasting and nice in salads — or how to use a fruit or vegetable at a certain stage in its life cycle. True ‘new’ potatoes, harvested while the plant is still green, are moist and fragile, with skin as delicate as tissue paper.

“When you’ve put effort into growing something, why not use it to its fullest?”

 

Icebox Salad

Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook

The top layers of chopped vegetables keep the dressing from soaking and wilting the bottom layer of lettuce. This salad improves after a few hours in the refrigerator; the dressing works its way into the peas, cucumbers and radishes, the flavors meld and the vegetables become sweeter.

Serves 12 as a first course or side dish.

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

1 small head romaine lettuce

10 oz. sugar snap peas, ends trimmed

1 bunch radishes (about 12)

1 English cucumber

4 green onions

2 cups shelled fresh peas (about 2 pounds in pods)

1-3/4 tsp. salt, divided

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. minced dill

4 large mint leaves, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped chives (about 1 bunch)

Line a fine-mesh strainer with 2 layers of cheesecloth and put strainer over a bowl. Put yogurt in strainer, cover with plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.

Tear romaine into bite-size pieces. Arrange evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or other 3-quart dish.

Chop sugar snap peas and arrange evenly on top of lettuce. Trim and thinly slice radishes. Arrange them on top of sugar snap peas.

Peel cucumber, halve lengthwise, and using a spoon, scoop out and discard pulpy flesh and small seeds in the center. Cut each half lengthwise again and chop. Arrange cucumber on top of radishes. Trim green onions, thinly slice white and light green parts, and sprinkle evenly on top of cucumber.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add shelled peas and 1 tsp. salt. Boil for 1 minute, drain and plunge peas into ice water to stop cooking. Drain peas. Dry peas thoroughly on paper towels and sprinkle evenly over green onions.

Transfer yogurt to a bowl (discard liquid beneath strainer). Stir in oil, remaining 3/4 tsp. salt and the pepper, then stir in dill and mint. Spread yogurt mixture evenly over salad and sprinkle with chives. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve cold, cut into 12 pieces.

 

Ravioli with Snap Peas, Pea Shoots and Minty Pea Pesto

Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook

Both sugar snap peas and their tender young shoots are combined with fresh mint and cheese ravioli for an easy and original dish.

Serves 4.

1 small garlic clove, peeled

4 oz. Parmesan cheese, cut into chunks

1-1/2 quarts loosely packed tender pea shoots, separated into 4- to 5-inch pieces, divided

1/2 cup loosely packed mint

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 pound fresh cheese ravioli

2 cups sugar snap peas, ends trimmed

Mince garlic in a food processor. Add Parmesan cheese and whirl until grated. Add 2 cups of pea shoots, the mint and oil. Pulse until coarsely puréed. Scrape into a small bowl and press plastic wrap against pesto.

Cook ravioli according to directions, adding snap peas during the last 2 minutes. Drain; return to pot. Whisk pesto, then gently toss three-quarters of it with the ravioli. Add remaining pea shoots and toss gently. Serve immediately with remaining pesto if you like (or save it for a sandwich).

 

Creamy Lettuce Soup

Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook

This French classic rediscovered makes a wonderful spring soup.

Serves 4; makes 7 cups.

1-1/2 pounds green lettuce, such as 1-1/2 large heads romaine or 2 heads butter lettuce

2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, split lengthwise, rinsed well and sliced

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for sprinkling

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 quart reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup half-and-half

Cut ribs from lettuce and chop. Chop leaves. Set both aside separately.

Cook leeks and lettuce ribs in butter in a 5- to 6-quart pot over medium heat with nutmeg, lemon zest, salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in lettuce leaves and broth, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until lettuce is tender, 1 to 2 minutes.

Whirl soup in batches in a blender until very smooth, pouring as blended into a large bowl. Return soup to pot and stir in half-and-half. Heat, stirring over medium heat until steaming (don’t let it come to a boil), about 2 minutes.

Ladle soup into bowls or cups and sprinkle with more nutmeg on top.

 

Fava Bean and Pearl Couscous Barley

Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook

Serves 4.

1-1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup pearl (Israeli) couscous

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. red chile flakes

1/2 tsp. finely shredded lemon zest

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

About 2 pounds fava beans, shelled and peeled*

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat broth and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add couscous, oregano and chile flakes. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until couscous is tender and most of the liquid is evaporated.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and juice, oil and fava beans. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*Note: How to peel fava beans

Shell the beans from the fava pod. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the beans to the water and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle. Then peel the rubbery outer skin from each bean. Tear it at the bean’s round end (use a paring knife or your fingernails) and pop out the bean. Peeled fava beans are very perishable and will keep only a few hours. Chill in an airtight container.

Strategies and tips for successfully growing vegetables and herbs this season.

Milwaukee, WI (PRWEB) April 30, 2012

The garden season is upon us and it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the plant choices in the garden center. “Gardeners can easily make shopping less stressful and their vegetable gardens more productive by following a few simple steps,” says gardening expert Melinda Myers.

Myers suggests these strategies for successfully growing vegetables and herbs this season:

Start with a plan. First, gardeners should make a list of what they and their families like to eat. Next, look for planting space to grow the selected edibles. Keep in mind vegetables and herbs can be planted in containers, mixed with other plants, or grown in a garden of their own.

Match plants to the growing conditions. Grow any vegetables where the fruit is eaten, like tomatoes, peppers, and melons, or the flowers, like broccoli or cauliflower, in full sun (8 or more hours). Root crops like onions, carrots, and radishes will tolerate a half-day of sun (4-6 hours). And leafy crops like Swiss chard, spinach, and lettuce are the most shade tolerant (3-4 hours of sun).

Warm season plants like tomatoes, peppers, and squash need warm air and soil for best results. Wait for the danger of frost to pass or cover with floating row covers to protect early plantings from cool temperatures and frost.

Broccoli, lettuce, peas, and other cool season crops perform best in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. “Don’t worry if the spring planting date was missed in your region,” states Myers. “There’s always the option to add these vegetables to gardens in summer or fall for a fall or early winter harvest.”

With a plan in hand, start with a walk through the garden center. Most garden centers group herbs and vegetables together. Individual types of plants are usually arranged in alphabetical order.

Check the plant tag for more details on a particular plant. The tags usually provide the size, spacing and time to harvest for each plant.

And now with the help of technology people can break out a smart phone and have access to more extensive plant information way beyond what the plant tag provides as well as find help with all of these steps. Shoppers will find that some plant tags now have QR codes that can be scanned to provide them with a plethora of gardening information at their fingertips. For example, Bonnie Plants recently launched a “Gardening at Your Fingertips” mobile site which features detailed how-to information geared toward on-the-go vegetable and herb gardeners. The site features planting tips, descriptions, recipes and free planting plans at m.bonnieplants.com.They even have a Spanish version available at http://m.bonnieplants.com/es

Make this a fun family activity. Get the whole family involved planting, tending, and harvesting the garden. “Even picky eaters are more likely to add vegetables to their meals when they help grow them,” shared Myers.

Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author columnist Melinda Myers has 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening. She hosts the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment segments which air on over 100 TV and radio stations throughout the U.S. She is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds Blooms magazine, a columnist for Gardening How-to magazine and hosted “The Plant Doctor” radio program for over 20 years as well as seven seasons of Great Lakes Gardener on PBS. Melinda has a master’s degree in horticulture, is a certified arborist and was a horticulture instructor with tenure. Myers’ web site is http://www.melindamyers.com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/4/prweb9453393.htm

Copyright 2012 Midland Daily News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Gardening for many younger homeowners or renters conjures up images of old ladies with too much free time in silly-looking shorts and floppy hats bent over their flowers for hours obsessing over weeds and bugs and goodness-only-knows what else.

However, gardening does not have be a hobby reserved for the obsessed — it can be a great way to spruce up your home, and it can be done with relatively little effort, if done correctly.

Lee Oltmann is the general manager of the Old Heritage Garden Center in Pekin and he spoke with the Daily Times in early April to provide some tips for the beginner gardener — a sort of “Gardening for Dummies” tip sheet.

Basically, in order to save yourself time in the long run, a beginning gardener should put in the bulk of the time right at the start. If you take nothing else from this article, at least take these three tips:

Prepare your soil

Get some fertilizer mixed into the soil before you plant a thing. The soil is the building block of a garden. Have a good, nutrient-rich base and your plants will get a good start on life and will adjust quickly. With good soil around their roots, a lot of plants will grow strong and require little to no other maintenance.

“When you initially plant, we always recommend the root stimulator. It’s a mild fertilizer with a rooting hormone that gets the plants adjusted quickly and stimulates that root system,” Oltmann said. “Most plants pretty much go on their own — especially if you use the compost on the soil. Prepare the soil ahead of time and it will save you time in the long run.”    

Also, get some wood mulch on the ground around those plants once they have been planted.

“Use wood mulch over your landscaping, because that’s going to both keep your weeds down and that’s also going to keep the moisture around your plants — it’s going to do double duty. Any weeds that get started in there will be easily pulled out through the mulch.”

Oltmann said to get the mulch right up to the plants’ stems, and to make sure it is at least 2 to 4 inches deep. It would also be wise to apply a product to the mulch that would prevent weeds from even germinating. Again, put in the effort to halt weeds right away, and it can save plenty of time that would have been spent weeding later on.

Know your area

“Before you pick out any plants, you need to determine how much sun you’re going to have in that garden ­— because that will determine what kind of plants you need to get: full sun or shade plants,” Oltmann said.

Just knowing this simple fact will help you avoid a lot of mistakes when picking out your plants. Some plants love the sun and some prefer some time in the shade, but unlike people, flowers that get too much of one or the other for their own good cannot just move. Instead, they die.

Have SOME idea of what you like when you go plant shopping

At least have a color that you like in mind.

Oltmann said that with all the endless options available, you should have some kind of starting point to zero in on. Garden shop professionals will have a much easier time helping you out if you have preferences or some kind of plan. Basically, give the pros some place to start when you are picking out plants.

Another thing to realize is that you are probably going to want to go with planters, rather than seeds. Seeds should have been planted already — as early as February — and they require more patience. For the casual or beginner gardener, planters — those little plants that are already in those plastic pot-type things, for the layman — are a better fit.

To provide structure for the garden, use shrubs. Shrubs require little maintenance after being planted besides the annual pruning, and some of them — like Knock Out Roses — can provide great color while providing the boundaries for your garden.

“Shrub roses will give you lots of color all summer long, like Knock Out Roses,” Oltmann said. “If McDonald’s and Taco Bell can do roses — and they do no maintenance whatsoever — then the average homeowner can do it, so people do not need to be afraid of roses.

“The roses I always do (a) one-time cutback in the spring, because that encourages growth and that’s where your plants come from.”

Also, shrubs are woody plants that do not die into the ground every year, like perennials, Oltmann said.

Speaking of perennials, these are going to be the backbone of the garden for a casual gardener. Perennials keep coming back, so if one plants them one year they will come back the next year, and the next year, and the next year — provided you keep them alive. And, according to Oltmann, “There’s tons of perennials that are nice and easy.”

The Firewitch dianthus produces bright-pink flowers that bloom the entire summer. Several types of Coreopsis produce different colors that bloom all summer long, as well. And Veronicas produce blue flowers that attract butterflies and are low maintenance.

Even grasses can be a low-maintenance way to beautify a garden.

“Ornamental grasses are always nice, because they give you a lot of texture in the garden. They’re very low maintenance — they come up, they do their thing. I leave them up during the wintertime. You cut them back around St. Patrick’s Day. You do the same the next year. Very low maintenance.”

The final piece to a complete garden is annuals. These plants die at the end of every year but they bloom for 100 percent of the time during the summer, according to Oltmann, so they are a good way to complement the perennials and add some color, plus new ones can be chosen every year to give you a way to change things up a little bit while maintaining the same basic structure.

You will be happy to know that science and engineering have also made many plants more easy to deal with, such as the historically picky hydrangea. Oltmann said there are now hydrangeas that can be grown just about anywhere — which did not use to be the case.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is to not pick everything that blooms at the same time. Oltmann said all the signs at Old Heritage show the bloom times for the plants to help with this.

“Pick things that bloom at different times of the year so that you have something out there all the time,” Oltmann said. “It’s always nice to go in and pick everything that looks nice right now, but you’ve got to plan. It might look all nice when you first plant it, but four weeks from now what’s it going to look like?”

Then, in the fall after the first frost, Oltmann recommends going out and cutting back the perennials after they have gone dormant.

After this has been done and all the colorful flowers have disappeared for the gloomy winter, you will see the wisdom of having planted a dwarf juniper or dwarf spruce earlier.

“Always try to put something that’s evergreen in there so there is something nice to look at in the winter.”

Vegetables in pots

For those with limited space or who rent an apartment with nothing more than some balcony space, vegetables can be grown in pots, rather than in the ground.

As with flowers, it is all about the soil. Prepare the soil with some compost and make sure to use potting soil, not topsoil. Potting soil drains better and “that’s the key thing in a pot, you want the drainage,” Oltmann said.

Tomatoes do better in a more acidic soil, so Oltmann said he always adds sphagnum peat moss to the soil when he plants tomatoes.

Cherry tomatoes or a specifically bred patio tomato work best in a pot. The Husky Cherry Tomato has a sturdy stem that stays upright in a pot, which is important. Basically, it is all about size when it comes to pot-grown vegetables.

“Some of those really big ones, they don’t really do as well,” Oltmann said. “It’s a medium-sized fruit that you probably have to go for for growing in a pot.”

Oltmann added that peppers are great for growing in a pot, and with peppers you can always plant herbs around the edges of the pot.

I recently had the opportunity to interview JoJami Tyler of FabulousAfter40.com who has been giving beauty and fashion advice to women over 40 and has become an AVEENO® Ambassador spreading the word about their “Be an Active Natural” campaign where helping your community could get you $10,000 to further your cause. One great way to make positive changes in the Tampa Bay area communities is to get involved in one of the organic community gardening initiatives such as Dunedin Harvest, Dunedin Community Garden, Seminole Heights Community Gardens, Oldsmar Community Garden, or Clearwater Garden Club’s Rakeholders.org. 

Q: Do you feel it is important for communities to promote organic gardening? Why or why not? “Oh yes, extremely important! Really, I’m sure more people would opt to garden organically if they were educated on how easy it is and how important it is on so many levels. It’s all about educating people! There is a wonderful man out of Philly, Mike McGraff who does a weekly show on PBS called, “You Bet Your Garden“. He has been someone I have listened to for years and he has helped educate so many people on the alternatives to using pesticides! I have also been reading Organic Gardening for many years to get ideas too.”

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Ms. Tyler’s vegetable garden is fairly small, at approximately 250 square feet but she manages to grow a variety of vegetables including squash, strawberries, green onions, cucumbers, green beans, lots of herbs, pumpkins, radishes, lettuces and spinach. She also has container gardens on her deck, many of which are home to cherry tomatoes, herbs and other flowers. She uses the same organic approach to grow flowers as well as vegetables saying, “because even the bees can be affected by chemicals and we don’t want to hurt them either!”

Companion planting which can be a great way to save gardening space, is one of the ways she uses to help combat pests by planting marigolds and growing basil between the tomato plants. “I never seemed to have too many problems…I would hand pick some pests off and knock them into soapy water… my roses were the worst. I did spray them with a spray I made with soap and cayenne pepper, but they would still get aphids pretty bad.”

Ms. Tyler expressed her belief in the benefits of organic gardening, “It can be so rewarding! For me, it’s a way to relax and bond with nature. I had my children help me in the garden too!  I always get so excited when the garden is blooming to be able to run out and grab some herbs and veggies and whip up a luscious meal! Even if you just have a few containers, you can still enjoy organic gardening!”

 Q: Tell us about the AVEENO® Be an Active Natural™ campaign and why you think this is a worthy cause?  “I work with AVEENO® as an Ambassador and this year the Brand expanded the Be An Active Natural™ program to include a grant competition to award people who are making a positive impact in their neighborhood. Eight $10K grants will be rewarded to individuals making positive change in their community. These grants are awesome because they  are helping and encouraging all of us to go out into our communities and make a difference by educating, protecting and inspiring others! So we need to spread the word about it – for full details head to Facebook.com/AVEENO.”

The AVEENO® Be an Active Natural™ campaign  started on April 10, 2012 and will run until October 31, 2012.

Read more about how Organic gardening could get you $10,000.

Gardening is a great hobby for the frugal enthusiast because growing your own produce can also cut down your grocery bills. Here are 8 tips to save money on your garden this spring.

Compost

If you don’t already have a compost pile, you should start one. This will give you a great place to dump any leftover food, as well as give you healthy soil to use in your gardens. You can build one out of wood or make one out of a large trash can to keep your costs down, or simply cordon off a small area of your yard.

Mulch

Shredded paper makes great mulch and costs a lot less than buying from a garden store. Use the leftovers from your home or office shredder or ask friends and family for their old newspapers.

Seed Pots

Don’t buy seed pots from your garden store – instead, use egg cartons or yogurt cups to get your seeds growing.

Shop Around

When shopping for seeds, make sure to shop around. You should be able to find the best deals on seeds by comparing prices online. There are also some non-profit organizations that offer seed packets and other helpful resources with membership.

Perennials instead of Annuals

Investing in perennial plants instead of annuals means a larger upfront cost, but it also means less financial maintenance next year when you have to replace them.

DIY Pesticide

There are tons of recipes online to make your own pesticide to repel bugs. You can even find organic recipes that will help protect your plants without causing harm.

Sharing

Team up with a friend, family member or neighbor to share your harvests. You can both save money and enjoy fresh produce.

Think Local

When deciding which plants to grow, think about your environment. If you’re in Texas, don’t plant items that are from tropical environments and expect to keep your water bill low. Native Texas plants are used to living through droughts and are much easier to maintain than their water-hogging cousins.

A Beautiful Spring Green Lawn

Dreaming of greener grass? Longing for relaxing summer evenings in the hammock with a glass of lemonade and full view of a beautifully manicured lawn? You’re not alone. A crossword puzzle I worked recently gave the clue, “suburbanite’s pride.” The answer was an obvious little 4-letter word: “lawn.” All of us though, whether we live in the suburbs or out on a rolling country road, take great pride in a beautiful lawn. It becomes the centerpiece of summer gatherings and the favorite spot for good family times.

Spring and fall are the best times to take a good look at your lawn and do the work necessary to ensure it will be its best come next spring and summer. All lawn maintenance activities are best done in the late summer and early fall. This includes sowing a new lawn, fertilizing, repairing, and reseeding. Here are some tips for fall lawn care that will let you enter winter carefree and anticipate the greener grass of summer.

Garden: Tips for spring lawn maintenence for beautiful spring green grass!

First, determine the status of your lawn right now. Is it (1) already healthy and green with little need of repair; (2) basically in good shape with just a few spots that need some work; or (3) in need of total restoration so that you feel like you need to start from scratch?

A healthy lawn is free of weeds and disease, free of brown and dry spots, has little or no thatch, and doesn’t have you sending the kids out everyday to pick the dandelions. (Thatch, by the way, is a term that means that layer of dense, tangled up grass roots and dead organic material in your lawn’s root zone. It’s bad, and you don’t want it.)

A lawn that does have some bad spots but is basically more than 50 percent good can be restored to perfection with some work. A lawn that has more than 50 percent of it covered with weeds, dry spots, or diseased areas should be totally reworked and begun from scratch.

Once you decide which category you lawn falls into, you are ready to get to work. Even the perfect lawn needs some work this time of year to ensure it will stay that way. The perfect lawn should be fertilized now and again in the spring. Choose an organic fertilizer free of harsh chemical salts. Avoid anything that says “fast acting.” You don’t need fast acting; there’s plenty of time to get the job done, and those fast acting chemicals just kill the earthworms and get to the water supply. Fertilizing in the fall prepares the lawn for winter by inviting strong vigorous growth to build the root system and store energy. Your grass will overwinter better and be ready to face the stress of summer heat if fertilized and strengthened now.

It is very important to not overfertilize. Too much nitrogen is especially harmful to your lawn. Grass will do something called “luxury consumption” when it comes to nitrogen. That means it will just keep on consuming nitrogen if it’s available. The result is too rapid growth and increased susceptibility to disease. Use a slow release organic fertilizer and apply only twice a year according to its directions or at the recommended rate of a soil test.

The perfect lawn should also be treated now for pest control. Many common lawn weeds such as dandelions germinate in the fall when the weather turns cooler. Check your garden supply store for a pre-emergence weed killer and apply according to its directions.

Also, check the “perfect” lawn now for thatch. You should be able to stick your fingers between the clumps of grass. You should also be able to feel the soil when you push your finger through the grass. If all you feel instead is a tangle or roots and matted organic material, you probably have thatch. Thatch keeps your lawn from properly utilizing water, provides habitat for nasty lawn pests, and prevents nutrients from cycling between your grass and the soil.

Early fall is the best time to de-thatch. You can rent a power dethatcher from garden supply centers. After you dethatch, fertilize and water the lawn well. It should recover in about 6 weeks.

The not-so-perfect lawn should also be fertilized and treated for pest control during the fall. Now is a good time to get a soil test done if you haven’t had one in several years. Contact your local extension service about soil testing and follow their recommendations. Brown spots in the lawn can be a result of thatch, overzealous mowing, compacted soil, or lack of water and nutrients. Check for thatch and remove if necessary as described above. Also, make sure that you are mowing at the correct blade height. Most lawn grasses should only be cut by 1/3 of their blade height. If you are cutting shorter than that, you could be damaging the roots and stolons.

If your soil is heavy or seems compacted, it’s a good idea to aerate the lawn now. (A good indicator of a compacted soil is poor water drainage.) A garden aerator can be rented or you can hire a professional to do the job. After aerating, add a topdressing of sand or ground compost. This helps the roots and improves the soil quality.

Now is also the time to take stock of your watering habits. Lawns should be watered in the early morning so grass can dry before sundown; otherwise the wet grass becomes an invitation to disease overnight. Also, be sure to water infrequently and deeply as opposed to very often shallow waterings. Shallow waterings discourage root development and keep the roots from getting down in the soil to where the nutrients are.

To repair bare spots, remove any dead grass and rake some compost into the soil. Then sow new seed.

If you need to start from scratch, be sure to start in time. You will need about 1 and 1/2 months before the first frost. Start by tilling your old lawn. Till up everything–grasses, weeds, all of it. Then fertilize with a good organic fertilizer as described above. If you have a heavy soil, you can also add compost or manure at this time to improve soil tilth. Then, smooth out the area and fill in any low spots. Go over the area with a rake to remove any stones or debris.

Purchase high quality grass seed. Be sure to read the label. Grass seed should have a guaranteed germination rate of at least 75 to 85 percent and it should be less than 0.05 percent weeds by content.

Using a rotary spreader, spread the grass seed over your lawn area. Then cover with weed-free straw. Be sure that you get even distribution of the seed. It’s a good idea to sow half the seed in one direction, then the other half in right angles to the first. Water thoroughly and make sure the seeds receive constant moisture until established.

Then sit back and relax. Your lawn is ready for winter and will bring lots of satisfaction at the coming of spring.

• Instead of the hose, use a broom to clean driveways, sidewalks and patios. You’ll save up to 18 gallons of water a minute. For more water-saving tips, click on www.SpareSacWater.org.

• Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs and trees after they bloom. Try using well-composted manure, spread 1 inch thick under the tree. This serves as both fertilizer and mulch, retaining moisture while cutting down on weeds.

– Debbie Arrington

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