Name::Sarah Jean"Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center."
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Name::Sarah Jean
Recent Entries
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Monday, August 11, 2008
Interview with a Gardener
Much delayed, an interview with Muum, a master gardener!
What’s the deal with composting? Our Utah soils, in general, are not very fertile. Composting is an ideal (and ecologically sound) way to provide better soil - and by better I mean - better texture, better fertility /more nutrients in the soil.
I heard you chuckle when you stir your compost. Is that true? Yes! Do you ever find yourself way more excited about something than you thought you would be? Do you ever find yourself enjoying something way more than you thought you would? That is what composting is like for me. I like mixing it, moving it, stirring it, adding stuff to it, sifting out the finished compost. It is just all very satisfying to me. Something for nothing, except some work.
What do you usually plant in your vegetable garden? tomatoes, peppers, corn, onions, lettuce, squash, winter and summer, carrots, and parsnips. Sometimes pumpkins, spinach..........
What will excite you the most when it comes up? ? pumpkins, maybe?
What are you doing new this year? swiss chard. does anybody have any recipes?
What do you recommend for getting children involved with gardening?
Work, work, work!!!!
j/k
although if yard work is a part of life, at some point some children do develop an interest! (i.e, you did!)
I think work along side a child is a good thing on many fronts, it is time to talk ( for them to talk to you, mostly) and they will work better with you than going away and doing an assignment. It gives you a chance to praise them for their help, and they can see your enthusiasm for the task at hand.
Giving them one vegetable to be 'in charge of' has worked well w/ Katie, we sit down and talk about the garden, and ask her to look at the list of veggies we'll be growing, then she can choose one to plant, help with , etc. That's why we eat parsnips now!
They could also pick out a flower/plant to be responsible for, too. Then during the summer, when I go out to the garden , I take her sometimes and tell her what to do to take care of the pumpkins or the corn or weed her veggie /plant of choice.
If we are headed to the nursery, sometimes I let her buy one thing that is hers. That fosters a lot of enthusiasm. I don't let her buy just anything, but if she says wow, that is pretty, and it is in my $budget and I think it will grow for her, I might get it for her.
those are a few ideas. Mostly I think it is important for people to have some kind of 'garden literacy' so that if they needed to grow their own food, they at least have some idea where to start. And I think gardening is an enjoyable, stress-reducing hobby - how could it not be good for everyone?
Posted by Sarah Jean :: 8:21 PM :: 2 Comments: 
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Sunday, June 01, 2008
Gardening on the edge
First, bellasara cards can be bought at most game or toy stores. We got ours at Wal-mart. They're near the baseball and pokemon cards.
Now, on with the garden. This is square foot garden #1. #2 had better be put in soon or the plants waiting for it will wilt. :(
The black thing in the background center is the compost box. Remember?
And there are peas on the far left, tomatoes in the second row. Carrots and sunflowers are planted but not up yet in the third row, and onions and garlic are in the far right row.
This is a weed. Just so you know I'm not kidding when I say we grow em big in Magna. Note the fence and door behind it. Ya. Seriously.Herb-pot-to-the-South. Chives, mint and lemon balm. These are all pictures in the raw, BTW, so you can clicky them and get big texture.
Herb-pot-to-the-North. Basil and rosemary. I know it looks a bit barren, but I'm expecting the basil to spread.
Hopefully this week we will have an interview with a Master Gardener. Don't miss it!
Finally, a news item. Guerilla Gardening. Given the price of food currently, these young people are making a political statement by stealth-gardening vacant public and private land. I could get into this.Labels: gardening, guerrilla gardening
Posted by Sarah Jean :: 6:08 PM :: 1 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Compost
We're composting for the garden, so I tell Tori to put her peels and stuff in the compost pile, and we'll put it in the box.
and she says, and the box will make it turn into something?
and I'm thinking...hey, I can inspire some awe of the magic of gardening, here.
So I say, Ya! It will turn into DIRT!
Her little face fell. Dirt?
It turns food into dirt?
hey mom, we've GOT plenty of dirt. don't know if you noticed
I tried to explain that it was really good dirt, that would make flowers and our garden grow.
She pointed out that when you give kitchen scraps to chickens, they make eggs.
which is better than dirt.
actually, she said they 'poop out eggs'.
We are not getting chickens.Labels: compost, gardening, kids
Posted by Sarah Jean :: 11:56 AM :: 1 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
What Flower are -YOU-?
"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."
I am a
Snapdragon
What Flower
Are You?
Posted by Sarah Jean :: 6:05 AM :: 3 Comments: ---------------------------------------
