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Urban farming, Easter crafts, home electronics and gardening prep tips: AM …

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H21AMLINKART53.JPGView full sizeLearn about raising chickens in urban areas at a library talk.Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer

CHICKENS AND VEGGIES: The Lee Road branch of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Library offers the following classes on gardening and raising chickens. Both are at 7 p.m. , free and registration is required; call (216) 932-3600. The library is located at 2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights.

Monday, March 24: Garden Planning by Plant Type. Learn how to grow plants in three plant families – alliums (garlic and onions), brassicales (cabbage, kale and collards) and solanales (tomatoes and peppers).

Monday, March 31: Backyard Chicken Keeping: A representative from the city of Cleveland Heights and Cleveland Heights residents who raise chickens discuss city regulations and tips.

EASTER DECOR: If you’re feeling crafty when thinking about Easter, now is the time to start making stuff. You’ll find instructions for making vases out of hollowed-out eggshells, kids’ crafts, DIY Easter baskets, centerpieces and more at this Martha Stewart web page.

TIMELY TIPS: The gardening experts at Fiskars, which makes lawn and garden tools, offer these  tips for prepping for spring gardening:

1. Draw up a garden plan to be sure that you’re using your available space in the best way. Fiskars garden expert Dee Nash shares tips on how to get started with a simple garden plan.

 2. Decide which seeds to start indoors and which seeds will be sown directly in the ground outdoors. Fiskars garden expert Robin Haglund helps identify which seeds to get growing and which to save for planting outside after the threat of frost.

 

3. Take inventory of tools and supplies, and make a list of what needs to be replaced or replenished.

TESTING SPEAKERS: Wireless speakers, which allow you to stream music into any room of the house, are gaining in popularity. Many Wi-Fi speaker systems can be linked together to work in a multichannel setup.

Consumer Reports recently evaluated the Play:1 speaker from Sonos, the SoundTouch 20 from Bose and Samsung’s Shape M7 on performance, functions and price. Here’s what the testers found.

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• Tips to improve your gardening in spring (158 views)

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March Gardening Tips From UConn

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March Gardening Tips From UConn

Details

Published on Thursday, 20 March 2014 09:24

Written by UConn Extension

Despite the lingering cold weather, on this first day of Spring you can start making garden plans. The UConn Extension has these tips for March.

1. Make plans to attend the UConn Garden Conference on March 21, 2014. Go to www.2014garden.uconn.edu for more information.

2. Carefully remove winter mulches from planting beds as snow melts and temperatures warm.

3. Add limestone, fertilizer or organic materials as recommended and incorporate into planting beds.

4. As ground becomes workable, de-thatch the lawn if you find an inch or more of thatch; seed any bare spots.

5. Seeds of annual flowers and vegetables that require 10-12 weeks of growth before transplanting can be sown indoors now.

6. Plant seeds of cold weather vegetables like spinach, peas, lettuce and broccoli as soon as soil is workable.

7. Soak mail order bare-root plants for about an hour before planting.

8. Start saving plastic milk jugs or 2 liter containers to use for individual hot caps or cloches. They will fit nicely over small garden plants, creating a free miniature greenhouse.

9. Clean-up and sharpen garden tools and take an inventory of supplies you will need for the upcoming growing season.

10. Get your soil tested through the UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory before any major planting or fertilizing venture. Soils sent in before April 1 will avoid the spring rush.

Visit the UConn Extension here for more information about Connecticut gardening, agriculture, natural resources and more.

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Tips on gardening for your health

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If you’re looking for ways to incorporate healthy living into your routine, look no further than the garden. Gardening for your health combines cooking, gardening and being active into a happy trio that can benefit you for years to come. Ready? Let’s go!

•Start off simple. Growing your own vegetables is one of the best ways to kick off a healthy lifestyle. You don’t have to get fancy. Even the most basic tomato plant will produce fruit that is 10 times better than what you’ll get in the store.

•Try heirloom veggies. Heirlooms have been around for decades. They might not have the same commercial look as other veggies (odd-shaped tomatoes or weird colors of carrots), but they are delicious and good for you.

•Enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labor. Maybe growing your own veggies isn’t quite in the cards. By signing up for a community supported agriculture group (CSA), you’ll be guaranteed fresh produce all summer long. Here’s how it works. At the start of a growing season, you commit to either weekly or biweekly deliveries for a set price. During delivery week, expect to pick up a box of fresh farm-grown vegetables. To search for local farms that offer CSAs in your area, visit localharvest.org. Also check out slowfood.com, a nonprofit member-supported association that helps educate consumers on the impact of their food choices.

•Try something different. Next time you’re hesitant about a specific veggie, bring it on home. Research it, cook with it, have fun with it. You never know what you’ll end up absolutely loving.

•Explore the farmers market. Wake up early on a Saturday morning and, coffee in hand or pup in tow, discover your local farmers market. Chat with the local farmer about why his produce is truly the best, and get cooking inspiration from those around you.

•Head outside to get moving. Cooking and gardening definitely go hand in hand, but don’t forget the third component: staying active. Walk or bike to your local farmers market. Or just make it a point to get out in your garden on a regular basis. A few examples of the approximate number of calories you burn per half hour while gardening: general gardening: 170 calories; planting seedlings: 150 calories; weeding a garden: 170 calories; laying sod: 170 calories; raking: 130 calories; bagging leaves: 130 calories; and digging and spading dirt: 190 calories

Danielle Calkins is a writer with Birds Blooms. This article is excerpted from a longer one. For more information or to sign up for a free email newsletter, go to http://www.birdsandblooms.com.

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How does your garden grow?

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Cloche cold frame

GETTING the garden ship shape ahead of the summer needn’t cause financial strain or back pain.

Aldi is stocking a huge range of gardening tools, equipment and accessories this spring, making beautiful gardens a breeze.

LAWN CARE

If you’ve got lawn trouble then Aldi is coming to the rescue with a whole host of gardening gadgets and accessories to achieve a perfectly manicured lawn. With garden spreaders, lawn repair kits, soil conditioner and lawn feed in store now, watching your garden grow has never been so easy.

Garden Spreader, £14.99

To grow the perfect lawn you need to begin with the perfect foundations. Aldi’s garden spreader, with a 12 litre capacity and 45cm spreading width, distributes seed and feed evenly, not only helping you get a beautiful lawn, but also ensuring the seed goes further.

Lawn Repair Kit, £3.99

You don’t need to relay the entire turf to create a flawless garden. Patch up those bare spots with this two-in-one lawn fertiliser and lawn seed kit.

SPRING GARDEN PREP

Prep the garden for the season ahead with pruning shears, cold frames, pressure sprayers, timber picket fences and trio planters – all excellent quality, the great value price will put a spring in your step.

Cold Frame (150 x 180 x 150cm), £24.99

Comprising a coated-green, steel tube frame, heavy-duty cover, four fixing pegs, two roll back opening vents and a protection net beneath for access, this cold frame will protect even the youngest of seedlings and ensure they flourish in a frost free environment.

Five Litre Pressure Sprayer, £8.99

This pressure sprayer has a five-litre capacity, three bar operating pressure and a 1.3 meter flexible operating hose, making it perfect for watering the lawn, cleaning the patio and spraying fertilisers.

Garden Pruning Shears, £2.69

Ideal for cutting roses, shoots and shrubs, these steel shears have a non-stick coating, rust-resistant lower blade and ergonomic handle – perfect for easy-peasy pruning.

Telescopic Tree Pruner, £39.99

With a stainless steel upper blade with non-stick coating for rust resistance and smooth cutting, carbon steel lower blade and saw and handle lengths of 202cm (inner) and 157.5cm (outer), this pruner ensures gardeners can tackle any tree job with ease.

WATERING

Water water everywhere . . . make nourishing your garden a doddle with hosepipes, long sleeve garden gloves and whole host of other great value, excellent quality watering tools and accessories in store at Aldi.

210 Litre Waterbutt Set (97 x 57cm excluding stand), £28.99

Made from recycled materials with a three part stand to allow easy access to the tap and downpipe filler kit, this handy set has everything you need to start storing rainwater to reuse in the garden.

Submersible Pump, £39.99

With stainless steel housing and a rustproof motor shaft, this submersible pump has an adjustable, automatic float switch suitable for dirty water, a nylon cord for lowering the pump and a cable length of 10 meters.

Aldi’s Specialbuys Gardening ranges go in store nationwide on March 20, and once they’re gone, they’re gone!

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Gardener: Tips for getting a jump on the gardening season, part 2

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Last week I discussed several simple methods to help extend your gardening season. This week I explore more options for giving you a head start in the garden. These methods work equally well at season’s end with the potential to provide a year-round garden.

Insulation is the key to keeping plants safe when cold temperatures threaten. Whatever you can find to trap and retain heat will go a long way toward defying the killing conditions of frost and cold that would otherwise bring an early demise to tender heat loving-plants. Blankets, plastic, buckets and the like all can serve to add critical protection on such nights. Be sure the covering protects the foliage and that it extends all the way to the ground. This ensures that warmth from the soil is trapped, which will add a few extra degrees under cover.

A cloche is an insulating cover made for such purpose. Perhaps you’ve seen these attractive bell shaped glass covers. Dating back to the early 1600’s cloches were and still are a common and effective method of protecting tender plants and food crops. A cloche substitute that I often use is to place plastic milk jugs with the bottom cut out, over my plants. A bamboo stake or stick helps hold it in place, and the lid from the jug can be removed the next morning to allow excessive heat to escape. Plastic soda bottles work just as well. It’s a simple and inexpensive way to protect tender plants through those nights when frost and freezing temperatures are likely. A milk or soda-drinking family can amass quite a collection of cloche-like covers in no time, plus they stack up well for storage when not in use.

Cold frames are perhaps the best and most popular methods food gardeners use for insulating their plants from temperatures far lower than most plants can handle otherwise. Think of a cold frame as a mini greenhouse. The basic premise is a sturdy, insulating enclosure around the plants and a glass or plastic top or lid that allows sunlight in to heat the space. Because of its excellent heat trapping quality, all cold frames must provide that all-important way for heat to escape during the day. Cold frames can be constructed from wood, cinder blocks, hay bales and more.

A sufficiently insulated cold frame can provide an environment warm enough to allow tender plants to thrive all the way until spring, even in the harshest conditions as my friend and colleague Niki Jabbour, author of “The Year Round Vegetable Gardener” (Storey Publishing, $19.95), can attest. She gardens year round from her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she harvests more than 30 different crops – even in mid-winter!

Container-grown plants offer the benefit of portability in allowing you to maneuver plants away from “Jack Frost.” Having the ability to move plants to a protected area and back again can buy you several weeks or more of extended growing time. The trick to making this work for large containers or those too heavy or cumbersome to move easily, is to place them on top of rolling platforms. I’ve seen several designs in better garden centers marketed for such purposes or you can search online. You also can easily make them yourself.

Microclimates are another technique commonly used to take advantage of pockets of warmer conditions. Think of microclimates as nothing more than small areas or unique growing environments that tend to stay a bit warmer their surrounding area. Typical reasons these areas exist is because they are often protected from wind, driving rain, frost or snow, or because they benefit from heat radiating off a building or protected area. When planted or placed near a brick or stone wall, heat absorbed and retained during the day is released at night. Plants in close proximity will benefit from this exchange. This mini environment can potentially allow plants to survive outdoors when otherwise they could not.

There is a season for everything, but it doesn’t mean you have to delay or stop gardening just because of cooler temperatures. Extending the season is an exciting and rewarding endeavor made easier by knowing a few easy-to-apply techniques.

Joe Lamp’l is the host and executive producer of Growing a Greener World on national public television, and the founder of The joe gardener� Company, devoted to environmentally responsible gardening and sustainable outdoor living.

Filed Under: gardening tips

Gardener: Tips for getting a jump on the gardening season, part 2

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Last week I discussed several simple methods to help extend your gardening season. This week I explore more options for giving you a head start in the garden. These methods work equally well at season’s end with the potential to provide a year-round garden.

Insulation is the key to keeping plants safe when cold temperatures threaten. Whatever you can find to trap and retain heat will go a long way toward defying the killing conditions of frost and cold that would otherwise bring an early demise to tender heat loving-plants. Blankets, plastic, buckets and the like all can serve to add critical protection on such nights. Be sure the covering protects the foliage and that it extends all the way to the ground. This ensures that warmth from the soil is trapped, which will add a few extra degrees under cover.

A cloche is an insulating cover made for such purpose. Perhaps you’ve seen these attractive bell shaped glass covers. Dating back to the early 1600’s cloches were and still are a common and effective method of protecting tender plants and food crops. A cloche substitute that I often use is to place plastic milk jugs with the bottom cut out, over my plants. A bamboo stake or stick helps hold it in place, and the lid from the jug can be removed the next morning to allow excessive heat to escape. Plastic soda bottles work just as well. It’s a simple and inexpensive way to protect tender plants through those nights when frost and freezing temperatures are likely. A milk or soda-drinking family can amass quite a collection of cloche-like covers in no time, plus they stack up well for storage when not in use.

Cold frames are perhaps the best and most popular methods food gardeners use for insulating their plants from temperatures far lower than most plants can handle otherwise. Think of a cold frame as a mini greenhouse. The basic premise is a sturdy, insulating enclosure around the plants and a glass or plastic top or lid that allows sunlight in to heat the space. Because of its excellent heat trapping quality, all cold frames must provide that all-important way for heat to escape during the day. Cold frames can be constructed from wood, cinder blocks, hay bales and more.

A sufficiently insulated cold frame can provide an environment warm enough to allow tender plants to thrive all the way until spring, even in the harshest conditions as my friend and colleague Niki Jabbour, author of “The Year Round Vegetable Gardener” (Storey Publishing, $19.95), can attest. She gardens year round from her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she harvests more than 30 different crops – even in mid-winter!

Container-grown plants offer the benefit of portability in allowing you to maneuver plants away from “Jack Frost.” Having the ability to move plants to a protected area and back again can buy you several weeks or more of extended growing time. The trick to making this work for large containers or those too heavy or cumbersome to move easily, is to place them on top of rolling platforms. I’ve seen several designs in better garden centers marketed for such purposes or you can search online. You also can easily make them yourself.

Microclimates are another technique commonly used to take advantage of pockets of warmer conditions. Think of microclimates as nothing more than small areas or unique growing environments that tend to stay a bit warmer their surrounding area. Typical reasons these areas exist is because they are often protected from wind, driving rain, frost or snow, or because they benefit from heat radiating off a building or protected area. When planted or placed near a brick or stone wall, heat absorbed and retained during the day is released at night. Plants in close proximity will benefit from this exchange. This mini environment can potentially allow plants to survive outdoors when otherwise they could not.

There is a season for everything, but it doesn’t mean you have to delay or stop gardening just because of cooler temperatures. Extending the season is an exciting and rewarding endeavor made easier by knowing a few easy-to-apply techniques.

Joe Lamp’l is the host and executive producer of Growing a Greener World on national public television, and the founder of The joe gardener� Company, devoted to environmentally responsible gardening and sustainable outdoor living.

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Gardening tips, tricks you need to know

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(FOX19) –

FOX19’s Denise Johnson is live at HJ Benken Florist this morning to learn some gardening tips for the upcoming season! 

At HJ Benken, they have been recycling their pots and trays for well over 40 years! They started out using 3″ clay pots and about 20 years ago, they switched to peat pots.

Even now with a logo on their own plastic pots, they are still re-using and recycling. Soil and plant waste are also re-used.

A few gardening tips to know from OrganicGardening.com: 

  • Wind up hoses: Don’t waste time dragging around a big hose!
  • Stash your tools: Minimize trips to the shed by keeping tools close. 
  • Keep your shoes on: Stash plastic grocery bags by the door to cover your muddy shoes in case
    you have to go inside.
  • Wash the plants: Collect your produce in an old
    laundry basket. The basket acts as a strainer, allowing you to quickly rinse
    off dirt and debris from veggies and fruits.

  • Cabbage
  • Kale
  • Cauliflower
  • Spinach
  • Lettuce
  • Radish 

Copyright 2014 WXIX. All rights reserved.

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Local TV personality AJ Petitti to present spring gardening tips and more …

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AJ Petitti_Headshoot.jpegA.J. Petitti
BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Want to
know what’s happening in your community? Well look no further because
cleveland.com has got you covered. From local government and
school news, to business and community events, it’s all right here.

Here’s a look at what’s
happening in Beachwood.

Local TV personality A.J. Petitti to present spring
gardening tips

Local television personality
and exterior living expert A.J. Petitti of Petitti
Garden Centers will present tips for successful spring gardening at 12 p.m. March
28 at the Ohio Design Centre.

Petitti will share this
year’s newest outdoor living trends, and teach attendees how to refresh outdoor
spaces after winter. He will also talk about the top 2014 garden colors, how to
create a colorful “drink garden” with seasonal fruits, and ways to define an
outdoor space.

Petitti regularly appears on
local television programs, sharing gardening tips and information. He also
hosts a weekly Emmy-nominated gardening show on Fox 8 and oversees Petitti’s
nine Northeast Ohio retail locations.

Several local interior design
experts also will facilitate a smaller workshop following Petitti’s
presentation. It will focus on refreshing the home’s interior and capturing the
energy of spring with bright interior trends, furnishings and color ideas.

Registration is $10, and
includes a light lunch. For more information, call the Ohio Design Centre at
216-831-1245 or visit www.ohiodesigncentre.com.

Records Commission to hold semi-annual meeting

The Beachwood Records Commission
will hold its semi-annual meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall.

Members will discuss the next
citywide document shredded event. Click
here to see the agenda.

Learn to use Outlook email from Microsoft staff

Staff from a local Microsoft
store will teach adults how to use Outlook, a free web-based email program, at
2 p.m. Wednesday at the Beachwood library, 25501 Shaker Blvd.

Attendees will learn how to
send and receive emails, use the program with social networks and share
documents. To register, click here or visit www.cuyahogalibrary.org or search for the Beachwood branch.

Email reporter Chanda Neely with news
tips and information about events in Beachwood.

Follow me on Twitter:

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Gardener: Tips for getting a jump on the gardening season, part 2 – Columbus Ledger

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Last week I discussed several simple methods to help extend your gardening season. This week I explore more options for giving you a head start in the garden. These methods work equally well at season’s end with the potential to provide a year-round garden.

Insulation is the key to keeping plants safe when cold temperatures threaten. Whatever you can find to trap and retain heat will go a long way toward defying the killing conditions of frost and cold that would otherwise bring an early demise to tender heat loving-plants. Blankets, plastic, buckets and the like all can serve to add critical protection on such nights. Be sure the covering protects the foliage and that it extends all the way to the ground. This ensures that warmth from the soil is trapped, which will add a few extra degrees under cover.

A cloche is an insulating cover made for such purpose. Perhaps you’ve seen these attractive bell shaped glass covers. Dating back to the early 1600’s cloches were and still are a common and effective method of protecting tender plants and food crops. A cloche substitute that I often use is to place plastic milk jugs with the bottom cut out, over my plants. A bamboo stake or stick helps hold it in place, and the lid from the jug can be removed the next morning to allow excessive heat to escape. Plastic soda bottles work just as well. It’s a simple and inexpensive way to protect tender plants through those nights when frost and freezing temperatures are likely. A milk or soda-drinking family can amass quite a collection of cloche-like covers in no time, plus they stack up well for storage when not in use.

Cold frames are perhaps the best and most popular methods food gardeners use for insulating their plants from temperatures far lower than most plants can handle otherwise. Think of a cold frame as a mini greenhouse. The basic premise is a sturdy, insulating enclosure around the plants and a glass or plastic top or lid that allows sunlight in to heat the space. Because of its excellent heat trapping quality, all cold frames must provide that all-important way for heat to escape during the day. Cold frames can be constructed from wood, cinder blocks, hay bales and more.

A sufficiently insulated cold frame can provide an environment warm enough to allow tender plants to thrive all the way until spring, even in the harshest conditions as my friend and colleague Niki Jabbour, author of “The Year Round Vegetable Gardener” (Storey Publishing, $19.95), can attest. She gardens year round from her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she harvests more than 30 different crops – even in mid-winter!

Container-grown plants offer the benefit of portability in allowing you to maneuver plants away from “Jack Frost.” Having the ability to move plants to a protected area and back again can buy you several weeks or more of extended growing time. The trick to making this work for large containers or those too heavy or cumbersome to move easily, is to place them on top of rolling platforms. I’ve seen several designs in better garden centers marketed for such purposes or you can search online. You also can easily make them yourself.

Microclimates are another technique commonly used to take advantage of pockets of warmer conditions. Think of microclimates as nothing more than small areas or unique growing environments that tend to stay a bit warmer their surrounding area. Typical reasons these areas exist is because they are often protected from wind, driving rain, frost or snow, or because they benefit from heat radiating off a building or protected area. When planted or placed near a brick or stone wall, heat absorbed and retained during the day is released at night. Plants in close proximity will benefit from this exchange. This mini environment can potentially allow plants to survive outdoors when otherwise they could not.

There is a season for everything, but it doesn’t mean you have to delay or stop gardening just because of cooler temperatures. Extending the season is an exciting and rewarding endeavor made easier by knowing a few easy-to-apply techniques.

Joe Lamp’l is the host and executive producer of Growing a Greener World on national public television, and the founder of The joe gardener� Company, devoted to environmentally responsible gardening and sustainable outdoor living.

Filed Under: gardening tips
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