Since I will not be gardening much the next few months, I may be posting more things related to outdoors in general, or how to be greener in life. I was doing a search about trees and stumbled upon www.arborday.org. They have wonderful resources to get your children involved outdoors, a huge database where you can search for trees, and a pretty reasonable membership.
The membership is what interested me, so I clicked the link. You can join for 6 months ($10) or one year ($15). When you join, your are subscribed to a bimonthly newsletter called Arbor Day. Also, you recieve a book called The Tree Book, and get up to 60% off any order through them. The best part is, you get to choose to plant 10 trees in a forest in your name, or they will send you 10 trees for free! I choose the 10 free trees. You enter in your zip code and it gives you a few options of trees that grow well in your area. I could pick 10 bald cypresses, 10 live oaks, or 5 myrtles. I picked 5 myrtles. I can't wait- my myrtle I planted last year is well over 7 feet tall, and gave me beautiful baby pink flowers last year. I want to plant them along the border of my yard. They should arrive soon, along with my newsletter and tree book!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
New apple tree
My biggest purchase from last weekend's Saturday Morning Market adventure was a fruit tree. More specifically an Ein Shemer apple tree. Most apple trees need another apple tree planted by it to pollinate it and help it produce fruit, but this one is self pollinating. Also, most apple trees grow best up north because they need 250-300 chill hours. Chill hours are the amount of time a tree needs temperature to be 45*F and below. This allows the leaves to go dormant. Obviously we do not get a lot of chill hours in west central Florida, especially where I live along the coast. This particular apple tree needs 100 chill hours, which is perfect for Florida.
I purchased it from Debra, the owner of The Edible Plant Store, at the Saturday Morning Market. She has a wide variety of plants suitable for zones 8-9, including herbs, fig trees, olive vines, pomegranate trees and banana trees. Her website is http://www.edibleplantstore.com/index.html, and she will deliver or you can pick it up at the market. She is very knowledgeable and has a large variety of plants, even more than her website lists.
We just planted the tree in my front yard today. It gets full sun from 9am until about 7pm during the summer time. It is about four feet tall now. Debra said it should produce blossoms next spring and some fruit next June. i can't wait to smell apple blossoms! And, in a few years I will have some actual shade in my front yard!
Here is a picture of the tree:
We made a little reservoir around it so when we water it, it will want to retain water into the root system. Here is a close up of a leaf:
I Think it looks kind of neat! I am used to my magnolia tree's leaves, which are waxy on top and very hardy. These seem delicate. And it is deciduous, so the leaves will turn colors in the fall!! A little bit of season in my yard :) Overall, I am very excited!
I purchased it from Debra, the owner of The Edible Plant Store, at the Saturday Morning Market. She has a wide variety of plants suitable for zones 8-9, including herbs, fig trees, olive vines, pomegranate trees and banana trees. Her website is http://www.edibleplantstore.com/index.html, and she will deliver or you can pick it up at the market. She is very knowledgeable and has a large variety of plants, even more than her website lists.
We just planted the tree in my front yard today. It gets full sun from 9am until about 7pm during the summer time. It is about four feet tall now. Debra said it should produce blossoms next spring and some fruit next June. i can't wait to smell apple blossoms! And, in a few years I will have some actual shade in my front yard!
Here is a picture of the tree:
We made a little reservoir around it so when we water it, it will want to retain water into the root system. Here is a close up of a leaf:
I Think it looks kind of neat! I am used to my magnolia tree's leaves, which are waxy on top and very hardy. These seem delicate. And it is deciduous, so the leaves will turn colors in the fall!! A little bit of season in my yard :) Overall, I am very excited!
Review: Saturday Morning Market
So my family has decided to try to be healthier and greener with the way we live. Planting a garden was one way we tried to combine both of those ideas. What better way to eat right and save the Earth then getting your food from your own backyard? This season it worked well. But alas, summer time in Florida is when most crops come to an end. Wanting to stay local, we decided to give the Saturday Morning Market in St. Pete a try. We loaded up our wagon with plenty of cloth bags and set out at 8:30.
When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to see plenty of shade trees. Apparently this is the smaller summer home of the market. They had all kinds of vendors selling everything, from artisan bread to pottery to herbs and trees. We ended up with bananas, pineapples, strawberries, a loaf of tomato basil bread and two frangipani (plumeria) sprouts. The vendors were super friendly and helpful, and there was even a man playing a guitar up and down the rows for entertainment.
I can't wait to go back again! Judging from their list of vendors on their website, it looks like it is pretty scaled down during the summer months. I look forward to going back in the fall when the weather is cooler and there are many more vendors.
When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to see plenty of shade trees. Apparently this is the smaller summer home of the market. They had all kinds of vendors selling everything, from artisan bread to pottery to herbs and trees. We ended up with bananas, pineapples, strawberries, a loaf of tomato basil bread and two frangipani (plumeria) sprouts. The vendors were super friendly and helpful, and there was even a man playing a guitar up and down the rows for entertainment.
I can't wait to go back again! Judging from their list of vendors on their website, it looks like it is pretty scaled down during the summer months. I look forward to going back in the fall when the weather is cooler and there are many more vendors.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Local happenings
For all my local friends, I am excited that I will finally be going to the Saturday Morning Market in St Petersburg this weekend! It's a local farmer's market, and has a new summer location and hours. I will report back on it for you afterward :)
Also, this weekend only, the city of Gulfport is having their Gulfport Organic Landscaping days (GOLD) on Saturday from 1-4. From their facebook page:
Also, this weekend only, the city of Gulfport is having their Gulfport Organic Landscaping days (GOLD) on Saturday from 1-4. From their facebook page:
"Learn how to grow food. Highly informative free seminars for beginners, key note speaker and displays relating to sustainable living... Meet local farmers and buy awesome organic produce and edible plants for your garden. Kids will enjoy cookies baked on site in our solar oven also story telling with live music. There is a super yummy vegan food at our community table... and much more.
Aiming for zero waste with this event. Bring your own eating utensils and bucket or bag to gather soil amendments."
Aiming for zero waste with this event. Bring your own eating utensils and bucket or bag to gather soil amendments."
I am hoping to make it to this wonderful event too! Come out and support your community!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Trees, and mythology
Ever feel drawn to a tree? Or always seek out to sit next to a certain tree? Who among us doesn't enjoy the feeling of walking amongst hundred year old trees? If so, you have been captivated by the allure of trees. Our facination with them goes back to the ancient Celtics.
Way back when the ancient Celtics lived, not much was known about science. They lived a wholly pagan life, relying on the Earth to provide food and shelter, and for predictable patterns of weather. They looked to their gods and goddesses for answers to life's mysteries. To them, a tree had it all: it provided shelter from the elements, wood for a fire and tools, fruit for food, and bark for clothing. Indeed these beautiful giants seemed to span into another plane of existence. The roots traveled down into the Earth where only the dead were presumed to roam, and it reached high up into the sky, scraping the homes of their gods and goddesses. It truly united the heavens and Earth, making trees spiritually significant and highly worshiped. They believed that trees were sacred, and many rituals were done around trees.
Each area on Earth has trees that are native and special to that area. It has adapted to the local environment and worked to help shape the landscape. They also work to clean up the pollution out of our air, and provide fresh oxygen for us to breath. Have you ever tried to cut down a tree? Their roots run deep, and it isn't easy to clear out that much age old growth. They still provide us shelter, wood for tools and fire, fruit and beautiful flowers.
So next time you find yourself next to a tree, go ahead and touch it. Feel the texture of the bark under your skin, feel the surface of the leaves, look at the patterns the leaves are arranged in. But most of all close your eyes and feel the energy coming from that tree. It's seen a lot, and endured a lot, and you could learn a lot by stopping and listening.
Way back when the ancient Celtics lived, not much was known about science. They lived a wholly pagan life, relying on the Earth to provide food and shelter, and for predictable patterns of weather. They looked to their gods and goddesses for answers to life's mysteries. To them, a tree had it all: it provided shelter from the elements, wood for a fire and tools, fruit for food, and bark for clothing. Indeed these beautiful giants seemed to span into another plane of existence. The roots traveled down into the Earth where only the dead were presumed to roam, and it reached high up into the sky, scraping the homes of their gods and goddesses. It truly united the heavens and Earth, making trees spiritually significant and highly worshiped. They believed that trees were sacred, and many rituals were done around trees.
Each area on Earth has trees that are native and special to that area. It has adapted to the local environment and worked to help shape the landscape. They also work to clean up the pollution out of our air, and provide fresh oxygen for us to breath. Have you ever tried to cut down a tree? Their roots run deep, and it isn't easy to clear out that much age old growth. They still provide us shelter, wood for tools and fire, fruit and beautiful flowers.
So next time you find yourself next to a tree, go ahead and touch it. Feel the texture of the bark under your skin, feel the surface of the leaves, look at the patterns the leaves are arranged in. But most of all close your eyes and feel the energy coming from that tree. It's seen a lot, and endured a lot, and you could learn a lot by stopping and listening.
Trees, and shade
So I have decided that I want a tree for my front yard. The Western sun comes blazing through the sky and melts everything in front of my house from 1pm on. I can't even touch my front door because it's so hot sometimes!
So I have decided that I want a holly tree. Yes I know the berries are poisonous to humans. But I have done a lot of research (just ask Chris my husband if you don't believe me!) and this is the tree I want:
They are hardy in my zone (zone 9) and grow in many soils. They prefer full sun and are slightly drought tolerant. It's an evergreen, so it will not loose it's leaves in the winter. This tree has beautiful berries that I can't wait to use to make some Yule wreaths! It gets 40 feet tall and 20 feet wide.
I can hardly wait to have a shady front yard :)
So I have decided that I want a holly tree. Yes I know the berries are poisonous to humans. But I have done a lot of research (just ask Chris my husband if you don't believe me!) and this is the tree I want:
I can hardly wait to have a shady front yard :)
Updates
Hello all!
I have not been on here in a while- I found out I was pregnant on March 28, and I have had 12 weeks of morning sickness and energy drain. I could barely get up and play with my three-year old, much less go outside in the 85* Florida heat and pull weeds. But, I feel better, and am ready to get back into the swing of things again!
Some random updates- most of my veggie garden is gone. The corn yielded one good ear of corn, the rest my husband picked too early. The cucumbers gave me three cukes, then succumbed to the Florida heat. They are water hogs, and watering every other day did not cut it for them. My basil got 3.5 feet tall, then went to seed so I cut it back. Same with my oregano. My three pepper plants seem to be struggling under the heat, but I have gotten two jalapenos and a habenero pepper so far. My tomatoes are out of control, well over four feet tall and giving me more tomatoes than I could possibly eat. My family has been eating tomatoes for a while lol. My onions seem to have stopped growing, maybe because they are in the shadow of the tomatoes. The carrots are coming along slowly. My lavender and rosemary are doing well.
That is it for for updates, more pictures and topics soon!
I have not been on here in a while- I found out I was pregnant on March 28, and I have had 12 weeks of morning sickness and energy drain. I could barely get up and play with my three-year old, much less go outside in the 85* Florida heat and pull weeds. But, I feel better, and am ready to get back into the swing of things again!
Some random updates- most of my veggie garden is gone. The corn yielded one good ear of corn, the rest my husband picked too early. The cucumbers gave me three cukes, then succumbed to the Florida heat. They are water hogs, and watering every other day did not cut it for them. My basil got 3.5 feet tall, then went to seed so I cut it back. Same with my oregano. My three pepper plants seem to be struggling under the heat, but I have gotten two jalapenos and a habenero pepper so far. My tomatoes are out of control, well over four feet tall and giving me more tomatoes than I could possibly eat. My family has been eating tomatoes for a while lol. My onions seem to have stopped growing, maybe because they are in the shadow of the tomatoes. The carrots are coming along slowly. My lavender and rosemary are doing well.
That is it for for updates, more pictures and topics soon!
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