The first week of September was a week of falling rain and falling temperatures here in Winston-Salem. Much of my summer crop was still producing, but I made room for interplanting some fall vegetables, such as kohlrabi and brocolli. Other fall veggies that grow well in my garden are Dinosaur Kale, collard greens, swiss chard and fall squash. In the photo you can see the long row of kohlrabi, and the widely spaced brocolli. The rain was welcome, and within a few days the seedlings had almost tripled in size!
A Day Before The Attack...
I took the photo above on a Friday evening... I noticed that something had eaten one of my brocolli plants. Humn. "Might be time to build a small fence", I thought. I had recently expanded my Urban Garden Project to the creekside area of the lot, which is unfenced on one side. So, the next day, I bought some black nylon mesh and cut down some 1-inch bamboo and was preparing to erect the fence when I saw that ALL my broccoli and kohlrabi had been devoured - in one day! 24 kohlrabi and 12 broccoli-devoured overnight by ravenous (gluttonous?) critters.
Does it say "All You Can Eat"?
While I was worrying whether it was too late to plant my brocolli, somewhere, perhaps in a groundhog burrow, someone was thinking "Man, am I hungry!" Now, I'm okay with "sharing" my garden's bounty with the local fauna, but the "All You Can Eat" attitude of my interloper was unexpected. I returned to Myers Nursery the following day to buy replacements but as luck would have it they had sold out. So, I'm learning to live with the loss... [cue violin music]
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: Depending on where you garden, different plants can be planted at different times of the year. Knowing how late or how early you can safely plant your seeds or seedlings is crucial to the productive success of your garden. After carefully choosing and perhaps even growing your seedlings from specific seeds indoors, nothing can be more heartbreaking than an unexpected frost or hungry critter.
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Click on the map image and you will be redirected to a page where you can input your zip code to get your precise "hardiness zone" and better determine what you can plant and when. And remember to build that fence if you have hungry rabbits, deer or groundhogs in the neighborhood.
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- Green Idea 1 : ' Find your nearest Farmer's Market and go there this weekend with friends...
- Green Idea 2 : ' Swap your old incandescent bulbs for CFLs when they burn out and start saving $$$
- Green Idea 3 : ' Try using your bike this weekend instead of your car...
- Green Idea 4 : ' This Spring why not plant a small kitchen garden of tomatoes and peppers on your balcony or patio?
- Green Idea 5 : ' What are you waiting for? Make the change today!
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SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.
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URBAN GARDENING
You can grow your own food whether you live on a rural farm or in a tiny urban apartment. Urban gardening is all about using space wisely to regain a closer connection with your food and beautify your home or neighborhood.
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RENEWABLE ENERGY
Explore energy resources, such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, ocean thermal, and wave power, that replenish themselves within a short period.
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LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
Locating the Farmers' Market nearest to you is now only a few clicks away. Localharvest.org is a useful and straight-forward site designed to faciliate your quest.
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2 comments:
Thank You Verge for the wonderful blog and fascinating articles you write. Trult inspiring stuff!
Val
Verge --
We've got a fight on our hands. Powerful insurance companies are pulling out all the stops to defeat the President's plan for health reform. They're spending seven million bucks a week on lobbyists, blanketing the country with deceptive TV ads, and just funded two high-profile "reports" to distort what reform would mean for you.
I know their game. I was in the Senate the last time health reform came around, and I saw the special interests savage our efforts. Frankly, under the old rules of Washington they were nearly impossible to beat. But now, thanks to you, the rules are changing. All the lies, scare tactics and lobbyist shake-downs in the world are no match for the incredible work of Organizing for America supporters like you. That's exactly what frightens them so much -- and it's what Barack and I are counting on.
After decades of false starts, we're now just a short time from finally passing real reform. Every member of Congress will soon have to cast their vote. As real change draws near, you can bet the insurance companies will hold nothing back. That means OFA will need the extra resources to beat back whatever attack they can dream up next. Here's the bottom line: it's not time to let up -- it's time to double down.
Please donate $5 or more to power OFA's fight for change as we head into the final round.
When I talk about you changing the rules in Washington, here's what I mean: This week, crucial negotiations on Capitol Hill are shaping a comprehensive reform proposal. At the same time, the insurance companies' phony reports are grabbing headlines and their lobbyists are twisting arms. But your work is keeping them from setting us back.
On Tuesday, OFA supporters around the country organized more than 1,000 local outreach events and generated an astounding 330,000 calls to Congress from constituents telling their representatives that "it's time to deliver." From my years in Congress and my conversations with Senate colleagues this week, I can tell you with confidence that your message broke through and you helped keep us on track.
If this fight were only about guaranteeing the choice of secure, quality, affordable care for every American, it would be worth everything we could throw at it. But as Barack reminded us this week, this fight for change is now about something even bigger: a test of whether or not "we as a nation are capable of tackling our toughest challenges, if we can serve the national interest despite the unrelenting efforts of the special interests; if we can still do big things in America."
I believe we can. And Barack believes we can. But what really matters is whether you believe we can. If you do, now is the moment to make it happen. Please contribute today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/FinalRound
Thank you,
Vice President Joe Biden
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