‘Dig’ The Earth

Monday I spent most of the day driving around because I had appointments everywhere but home. It was nice though because my baby girl got to spend some time with her cousins. I took the opportunity to get some cow manure compost, petunias, basil, rosemary, sweet marjoram and lavender at the local Lowe’s store. There were a few groceries I had to pick up so I took the opportunity to peruse the garden center at Meijer and found they had Stargazer Asian Lily bulbs packed in bags shoved in a small end cap hanging box. I found one that had sprouted and was semi upright with no other signs of abuse. They were so cheap I just couldn’t leave them. Not to mention the Asian lily bulbs that I picked up last year probably rotted in the ground. Well, all but one that seems to have divided as well even though it never broke ground last year. I got them in a pot as soon as I could, but with all the stuff that was clanging around in the back of the car the little bud and topmost leaves got pinched off. I also lost half the basil plant (that’s why I got the biggest one I could find).

Tuesday, Earth Day, was such a nice day from the get go that we had all the windows open, the lights off and the air conditioning off. I don’t think I even turned the lights on in the aquariums that day. Poor fishies. Eh, they don’t care as long as they’re fed. It actually got pretty hot in the afternoon. My little one wanted to be outdoors with me and I doused her with SPF 50 before we went outside. She covered herself in sand while I spread compost and gypsum on the garden. After a little while even though she was mostly in the shade you could see the rosiness of her cheeks increasing. So, I convinced her that it was time for her afternoon nap.she wanted to go to her room, but since she was covered in sand (though I couldn’t see it I was convinced it was there and didn’t want to try and get it out of her carpet) I had her sleep on the couch, which she loves anyway. She was out for three and a half hours. Plenty of time for me to plant some 2 year asparagus plants, re pot all my herbs and plant the lily bulbs. I wanted to keep the herbs fairly close to the house so I found some old pot hangers and a birdbath that was left with the house and used them to display the little herb garden near my front door.

Until lately I haven’t done much to follow the progress of conservation efforts. I think having a child now and also having a little plot to cultivate yearly has really given me a sense of perspective about the future of the planet. That’s pretty much why I wanted to start this garden blog in the first place. It’s not only to share my gardening progress, trials and tribulations, but also to share information about how we can daily help improve the future of the planet. Through conservation, using organic items, encouraging biodiversity when we garden, etc. are all things we can do to help. We need this and our children will benefit.

The other day at Wal-Mart (whom my husband calls the evil empire) I saw signs all over the place for Earth Month 2008. Being the largest retailer in the world it would make sense that they should offer their customers products that do not overtly harm the environment and encourage the millions that shop there to be more ecologically responsible. If you are a budget conscious shopper it is sometimes difficult to buy these certified organic products. Stores like Wal-Mart and Meijer (in the midwest) are coming out with natural and organic products that are cost effective for most any consumer.

If you can have your own garden in the summer try to grow some easy crops like salad greens, potatoes, green beans and tomatoes. Being able to harvest fresh food from your own land or container without it being contaminated by pesticides or herbicides or hormones is something of which you can feel proud. With the rising cost of food because of fuel prices being able to go a season without having to buy these things could save you some serious cash and add peace of mind.

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In zone 5 we have about 5-6 weeks before the last estimated frost which gives us enough time to start tomato seeds indoors. You could also wait until the end of May and buy some tomato seedlings from your local garden center – buy heirloom varieties if you can and save seeds once you harvest. This will encourage biodiversity and give you and your friends seeds for good juicy fruit next year. It will cost you the same as buying 2 lbs. of tomatoes but will yield at least 10 times that before the growing season is over. Salad greens, lettuce, spinach and carrots can be planted outside right now; the sooner the better. Once it starts to get warmer the greens and lettuces will get bitter tasting and the plants will bolt (go to seed). Green bean seeds can be planted directly in the garden once the danger of frost is past – probably the last week in May/first week of June.

As a matter of fact, today I planted 20 varieties of greens, herbs and root crops. My earliest harvest will be in mid-May. I could resow every 2 weeks for continuous harvest or leave the space clean after harvest for summer and fall bearing fruits and veggies.

I found an interesting post on Off Grid Living, a blog about conserving energy and living off the main power grid. They suggested using an online watt estimator based on your locality zip code to estimate whether you have enough exposure to produce more power than you need.

The calculations are based on estimates by the Department of Energy. So if you visit the site MyWattsEstimator and enter your State and Zip Code you will get your on-site renewable energy potential.

I’ve often asked my husband about this since we live in Northern Ohio where it’s cold and overcast 4 to 6 months out of the year.

I went to the site and this is what my report was (I had to use an address from inside town because the system could not find my rural address):

WIND POWER RESOURCE:

Average – Class 2

SOLAR RESOURCE:

Average – 4.34 Sun Hrs/Day

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