Login to My Account

Live & Thrive

No one logged in.

Subscribe to RSS RSS

Organic Homemade Containers - part 2

Sheryl McGlochlin - Friday, February 10, 2012

 

Watch the video to see what we do with the containers once they are made.

Sorry for part of this video that is duplicated.

Organic Homemade Containers - Help us make these in February for our gardens!

Sheryl McGlochlin - Friday, February 10, 2012



Watch this little video and then help us make these for our gardens.

We always make at least 2000 of these containers.

They come together fast and easy.

You can make these at home.

What is needed:

  • newspaper
  • a mold using a bottle or a 2" PVC pipe
  • bowl of water
  • cookie sheet or tray to put the containers on until they are dry
  • big garbage bag to keep them all in once they are dry

 

NOTE:  We don't put the soil or seed in the container at this point.

Bagels are available every Thursday for Garden Members and 6-3-4 Meal Plan Students

Sheryl McGlochlin - Friday, February 10, 2012

 

 

To receive bagels on Thursday, please contact Courtney: (310) 809-2575 or email:  govecon@gmail.com

BEFORE Thursday

if possible, so you can arrange a time with her to pick up.

There is a wide assortment of flavors available!

She lives in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City.

You'll receive her exact address once you talk with her. 

She usually picks them up after 12 noon, so they are available by 2 pm on Thursdays.

Composting and Cleaning up your garden - do's and don'ts

Sheryl McGlochlin - Friday, February 10, 2012

Learn much more about Composting, CLICK HERE

It's February and we are cleaning up all of our gardens from the fall and winter.

Here are a few tips for recycling materials back into your garden.

 

List of compost materials we recycle back into our gardens.  These are not sent to the land-fill.

  • Grass Clippings
  • Leaves
  • Weeds
  • Manures
  • Coffee Grounds
  • Wood Chips
  • Saw Dust
  • Bark
  • Stems
  • Stalks
  • Garden and Canning Waste
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables

What we do NOT put back into our gardens or into our Compost Piles:

  • Meat
  • Fatty Foods
  • Bones
  • Large Branches
  • Dairy Products
  • Synthetic Products
  • Plastics
  • Pet Wastes

Adding some of these products to your compost pile will attract rats, raccoons and insects.

 

The best size for composting:

For optimal composting, materials should be smaller than 2 inches.  These will compost much faster than larger items.

We compost leaves that are much larger than 2 inches but we gather them up, take them to some of our larger gardens, drizzle them over the soil, then till them into the soil, which helps to chop them up into smaller pieces, which helps the composting process move much faster.

 

Successful composting needs 3 things:

  • Air
  • Water
  • Nutrients

 

The best way to compost: 

You can make a pile, a box, a bin, a barrel, etc. to keep your compost in but...

The very best way to compost is to get the compost materials back into the garden, to be tilled into your soil asap.

This will allow your compost to get more air, water and bacteria from the soil, helping it to break down much faster than it would in a bin, barrel, pile or box.

 

How to know when your compost is ready?

Compost is ready when it is: 

  • Dark
  • Crumbly
  • Earthy odor
  • Non-offensive odor
  • Looks rich and gorgeous!!

Watch my "Pea Planting" Video, Learn how to plant peas in February!!

Sheryl McGlochlin - Friday, February 10, 2012

This is what we will be doing in the gardens between Valentine's Day and President's Day (Feb. 14 - 22).

Come and help us and enjoy super delicious Sugar Snap Peas in May!!!

 

More gardens will be open soon! What kind of work we are doing right now...

Sheryl McGlochlin - Friday, February 10, 2012

It's February 10th, the weather has been unseasonably warm lately so we are excited to get things rolling.... in more gardens!

What to do in our gardens in February...

#1 Clean up

In our Holladay gardens, for example, we have been working since Feb. 1st, cleaning up our garden space from the fall and debris from winter.

Since this is the beginning of our new gardening season, we want a clean garden to start working in. 

Any leftover leaves, branches, debris, etc. should be cleaned out so your new garden is ready to go.

 

 #2 Plant early spring crops

In Holladay, we have been getting a lot of salad greens planted in the greenhouse.  Everyone will be able to enjoy these early crops that should be ready to eat by the end of March.  If you come and work in Holladay this week, you may be helping us plant.

Outside the greenhouse we are preparing to plant a ton of peas.  I generally do this between Valentine's Day and Presidents Day (Feb. 14 - 22).  In some of our other gardens in the valley, you can be doing the same thing.

Come and work with us in Holladay to learn how to Plant Peas OR watch my PEA PLANTING VIDEO I made recently.

All of our East Side gardens will have early spring crops planted soon along with Riverton, West Valley and a few other gardens.

 

NOTE:  Some West Side gardens do not allow early spring planting.

Due to the large size of some of our West Side gardens, we bring in a tractor to plow our soil before we plant. This means our land needs to be clean and clear of anything growing in them until after they plow.

These properties include all 3 of our South Jordan Gardens, Taylorsville and West Jordan Garden.  That still gives us plenty of other gardens to get our early crops in.

For the larger gardens, the homeowners have already arranged for a tractor to come and till.

There is not a set date for when this happens.  They know when the time is right, based on the weather and season and will let us know when we can begin planting.

How to know which crop to plant and when...

Sheryl McGlochlin - Monday, February 06, 2012

This website is an excellent guide for those living here in Northern Utah, who want to know WHEN to plant certain crops.

This will give you an idea of what we are planting in our gardens throughout the year.

In our Holladay greenhouse garden, we can plant most of these crops a month earlier in most cases, because of our fantastic high tunnel cold frame greenhouse.

 

http://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/ 

Garden Work to do - Feb. 6 - 11

Sheryl McGlochlin - Saturday, February 04, 2012

All of this may be done before Wednesday, but the big focus is in Holladay right now.

We'll be moving in to more gardens soon but Holladay gardens are always our first ones to be planted.

Top priority chores:

Finish planting the rest of the "salad makings" in the greenhouse which will include arugela, spinach, and other dark green leafy lettuces. 

Clean up all of the leaves from the compost area and other parts of the yard, put leaves into white storage buckets to be transported to another larger garden which will then be tilled into the soil in preparation of our spring planting.

Prepare, clean and straighten all of the pea garden area and fences, in preparation of planting peas in the ground starting Feb. 13 and 22.

 

I'll be posting additional Garden Work times soon, including Monday afternoon, 2 - 4 pm.  RSVP if you can come.

The first 10 workers will each receive a delicious loaf of Artisan Bread!

Saturday, Feb. 4 - Half of the Holladay Greenhouse is now planted with Tossed Salad makings!

Sheryl McGlochlin - Saturday, February 04, 2012

A big thanks to Tiffiny for working so long in the greenhouse today!  For over 4 hours she planted a bunch of Swiss Chard and lettuce in half of our large 1200 sq ft greenhouse.  We will begin enjoying this delicious harvest before March 31!

She was able to finish getting a bunch of organic debris off the garlic, which is growing very nicely outside the greenhouse, so we can start eating it within another week! 

People are surprised to hear how much work there is to do in a garden in February.

There is PLENTY of work to be done inside a greenhouse AND outside in the yard, right now.

We try to take advantage of these warmer days like today, that feel more like spring than winter. 

Short Video: Intro to our 2012 Community Garden Group

Sheryl McGlochlin - Saturday, February 04, 2012

Article Calendar

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
   
1
2
3
4
5
6
789
10
11
12131415161718
19202122232425
26272829   



Upcoming Gardening Events

Garden Work, Holladay
13-Feb-2012
Garden Work, Holladay
16-Feb-2012
Garden Work, Holladay
20-Feb-2012
Garden Work, Holladay
23-Feb-2012
Garden Work, Holladay
27-Feb-2012

View all Live and Thrive Events


What others are saying…

Gardening is great for the mind and soul...More

I'm a believer too!...More