Hydroponic Gardening Seminar

On Tuesday, October 4, the DC chapter of the Holistic Moms Network is hosting a seminar on hydroponic gardening from 7:00 – 9:00 pm in the community room of the Takoma Park Public Library. The meeting is open to the public for first time members.

Agnes Traynor, Master Gardener, will demonstrate different ways of growing your own greens and herbs indoors year-round. She will have a hydroponic garden on display and green, nutritious samples to share. This will be a terrific opportunity to learn how to garden indoors when it is too cold outside! She will also discuss microgreens growing. Microgreens are seedlings that have not yet developed their true leaves. Packed with nutrients, they provide a colorful and unique punch to salads, soups, and sandwiches. Some common varieties of microgreens include broccoli, kale, beet, amaranth, and arugula. You can harvest these homegrown greens within 7-10 days of planting and can enjoy them year-round.

Agnes Traynor is a Master Gardener and Wildlife Habitat Steward with the National Wildlife Federation. She owns Home Food Gardens, a local business promoting hydroponic gardening and supporting local kitchen gardens. Agnes demonstrates her commitment to urban agriculture by growing food for her family in their suburban front yard garden while supplementing each season with produce grown hydroponically indoors.

The “Hydroponic Gardening and Microgreens Growing” meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 4, from 7:00-9:00 pm in the Community Room downstairs at the Takoma Park DC Public Library. The Takoma Park DC Public Library is located at 416 Cedar Street NW, Washington, DC 20012. There is street parking, and the library is also metro-accessible from the Takoma/Red Line stop.

For more information, visit the Holistic Moms DC website

Looks what's in our nest box now!

Tom and I were just out taking a walk around the property. I looked up at one of the nest boxes and for a minute, I thought our screech owl was back. But looking closer......it is full of bees! I'm pretty sure they are honey bees. We've had them on the property once before and they hang out for a day or two and then disappear. Pretty cool sight, though. Notice them coming out of the side, too. That is an air hole we made for the owls.

 

Takoma Hort Club Annual Bulb Sale

The Takoma Horticultural Club (THC) is participating again in the 30th Annual Takoma Park Street Festival by hosting a booth (near Carroll and Tulip) where you can find all your spring bulbs. This is the club's only fundraiser for the year, so please come out, and bring your neighbors and friends! Rain or shine! (We have a tent, and bulbs don't mind getting wet.) Bulbs make great gifts, and extras can be bought for easy indoor forcing to brighten those grey winter days.

The festival will have live bands on three stages, over 200 artists and crafters, community groups, food vendors, and much more. Members of the Takoma Horticultural Club get a 10% discount on all bulb purchases. You are welcome to renew or join the club at the Fair. The membership fee is $18 for the rest of this year and through 2012; or you can become a Life Member for $125.

See you at the Fair with cash or checks and your reusable tote bags!

(Sorry, we cannot accept credit cards.)

Directions and details at www.takomafestival.com.

This information was provided by Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine, who also provided this BONUS information about bulbs:

BONUS Bulb Tips from Washington Gardener Magazine:

- plan to plant between mid-Oct and Thanksgiving — but if you get them in by the end of the year, you are still fine

- in general, pointy-side up 

- in a hole 2- to 3-times as deep as the bulb's height

- daffodils are most reliable for returning every year, they multiply in future years, and are deer-resistant

- look on packages for "early season", "mid season" and "late season" – try to buy a variety from each of these to lengthen your blooming time over a 6-8 week period rather than all bulbs blooming at once

- buy only bulbs that are firm, large and unblemished (no mold or mildew)

Kathy Jentz
Editor/Publisher
Washington Gardener Magazine
WGardenermag@aol.com
www.WashingtonGardener.com

Right Plant, Right Place - Seminar - October 14th

When: Friday, October 14, 12pm-1pm

What:  Landscape for Life Brown Bag Lecture Series: Right Plant, Right Place?

 Where: U.S. Botanic Garden, Conservatory Classroom

Bill McLaughlin, USBG Curator

Truly successful gardens provide beauty, require little chemical input and give back to nature. By emphasizing Mid-Atlantic native plants and understanding their requirements, the homeowner can have it all!

The USBG, in partnership with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, has developed Landscape for Life (www.landscapeforlife.org), a program for home owners on sustainable gardening and based on the principles behind the Sustainable Sites Initiative. This Landscape for Life series serves to highlight how home gardeners can incorporate sustainability into their personal landscapes. These brown bag lectures can be done individually or as a series.

 Location: Conservatory Classroom

 FREE: Pre-registration required: Visit www.usbg.gov

Any way you say it, it's good for the planet

Remember those puzzles when you were a kid that said "How many things can you find wrong in this picture?" Well, this post is kind of like that.

I found this article entitled 20 Simple Ways to Conserve Water the other day. It is obviously written by someone from another country who doesn't understand the English language very well. OR, maybe there is some sort of translating software that had its way with the author's words.

In any case, it's so "unique" that it might give you a few laughs. I've copied it in it's entirety here, just because I assume that eventually an editor might find it and pull it off of the site or at least clean it up a little.

The point is, no matter how you say, a lot of this advice is good for saving water (although I'm not sure I would trust any of the statistics cited).

I especially like #2, which seems to indicate that taking a bath in a bucket will save water.

Very few of us our aware of the fact that water reserves of the earth. While the supply being finite, we use, or rather waste it infinitely. Water is inevitable for our survival. We need water not only for drinking and cleaning but also for manufacturing, agriculture and other household activities. It is high time that we should stop wasting water and conserve it for our lives to sustain and for our future generations. 

Not just the technicians, soil scientists, farmers, hydrologists, wild life managers and other professions but every individual should also realize the importance of conserving energy and water in every form. By saving and reducing the usage of water and recycling waste water, we can do our bit to save the mother earth and also ourselves. 

20 simple ways to save and conserve water are suggested below: 

1. Water conservation in and around the house: Do not keep the tap open while washing hands, brushing our teeth and while bathing. Every drop of ‘water saved’ is ‘life saved’. 

2. Do not bath for too long: If a person shortens his every day shower time by a minute, he can save 150 gallons of water per month. Using a bucket while bathing instead of a shower can also do the needful. 

3. Re-use your towel while staying in a hotel: While putting up in a hotel you can do your bit by opting to reuse your towel even the next day and save gallons of water in turn. 

4. Recycling waste water: Recycle waste water by bathing your pets in the lawn and washing your cars in the garden area and water the respective areas at the same time. This will serve to purposes therein and save a lot of water. 

5. Water your plants when required: Water your plants only when they need it. Excessiveness is never good, it might kill your plants. 

6. Use dustbin instead of flushing the waste: You should always throw used tissue papers in the bin rather than flushing them. This activity can save water in gallons. 

7. Smart thinking saves water smartly: Do not throw an ice cube or any water left out anywhere in the wash basin, use it for your house plants instead. 

8. Channelizing waste water to landscapes: For automatic water saving, you can channelize water from rain gutters and HVAC systems to a place where the water loving plants are grown. 

9. Insulating your faucets: Your faucets should be insulated with hot water pipes to ensure immediate supply of the same to the tips, thereby saving both water and energy. Also, installing water saving aerators on all your faucets can also serve the needful. 

10. Group bathing: A very simple and easy way to save water in your everyday routine is by bathing your siblings of the same age group together. You unrealistically save a lot of water without putting in any extra effort. 

11. Use Eco-friendly toys which use less water: Avoid using toys which involve the usage of constant flow of water like recreational water toys. Educate and encourage your children to use water-friendly toys. 

12. Carefully handling your gadgets saves a lot of water: You can save 1000 gallons of water just by being a little precautious in running your washing machines, be it for clothes or utensils. 

13. Installing leak detection units: You should get leak detection units installed in your pipe fittings in the bathroom to monitor and control any water lost in the form of leaks and drips. 

14. Your duties at the work front to save water: Even at office fronts, you can play your part as a water conservationist by keeping the maintenance personnel. Beware of any leakage or drip in the toilets of your department. Hold discussions with your colleagues and raise consciousness in people regarding saving of water. It will be fruitful.

15. Using water saving products to conserve water: These days many water saving products are available in the market to support and induce consciousness in consumers to save water at home. Evolve shower heads and waterless urinals are some of them in this list. 

16. Be smart while working in the kitchen: Start using a compost pile to dispose off your kitchen waste rather than an electric one. Don’t leave the faucet open, while washing dishes under the tap . 

17. Refrigerating drinking water: For drinking water, keep a pitcher in the refrigerator to cool rather than using running tap water to cool it off. Anyny leftover water should be used for your plants rather than throwing it in the sink.

18. Conserving water in outdoors: Water your lawn or garden in the cool parts of the day, especially in the morning or evening hours and not in the day time to conserve water. Avoid watering on windy days when most of the water gets drifted away by the blowing wind. 

19. Use sprinklers for plants wisely: While watering your lawn you should always adjust the sprinklers so that you do not waste water unnecessarily by watering the house, sidewalk and street. However, smaller areas should be watered by hand and not by sprinklers to avoid wastage. 

20. Creating awareness amongst people of your area: Educating people on conserving water can be a boon and this can be done if you take an extra effort to induce your school systems and local government to teach children and adults by holding seminars and other programmes for the same. 

Water Conservation is much needed and it is high time we all should wake up and contribute towards saving the most inevitable element of our lives. 

P.S. Mam, Kindly note that I am not getting relevant pictures according to the size, I request you to help me if u can and insert some pictures for me. I have tried to do some on my own.The images loaded are not getting adjusted to the relevant size, but they adhere to the topic. Kindly bear with me for the inconvenience.

Thankyou 

Shruti

D.C. is America's Top Green Power Community

Here is some fun "green" news to pass along.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the communities of Washington, D.C. and Brookeville, Md. as winners of the first Green Power Community Challenge. The year-long challenge encouraged communities across the nation to voluntarily increase their use of green power generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydropower. By using green power, communities help to reduce their carbon footprint, improve public health, and advance the market for renewable energy. 

Washington, D.C. surpassed all other challenge participants to win the competition title for the most amount of green power used annually. District of Columbia businesses, residents, and the District Government are collectively using more than 772 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, enough to meet 8 percent of the community's total electricity use. 

Brookeville, Md., is the challenge winner for the highest green power percentage of total electricity use. Forty-five percent of Brookeville’s local government, residential, and business electricity usage comes from green power sources.

For more information about the Green Power Community Challenge, visit the EPA website.

DC School Gardens Bike Tour

Come out and join fellow bicyclists (or van riders) on Saturday, October 1 from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. for an exhilarating tour of DC School Gardens. Both the van and bike tours will begin and end at the same locations this year, giving you the opportunity to meet more people and share what you learn.

Everyone will meet at Watkins Elementary where a free breakfast will be waiting, return together at Tubman Elementary where everyone can recap the tour over a free lunch (thanks Chipotle). You can choose to either bike or take the van — both will allow you to experience school gardens, talk to the hard-working and inspiring people involved in sustaining these gardens, and ask questions.

Please RSVP to tours@dcschoolgardenweek.com and indicate whether you’d like to participate in the van or bike tour. If you don’t have a bike, but would like to participate in the tour, let us know- we’ll hook you up with a bike courtesy of Capitol Bikeshare! Be sure to come along for the entire ride as fabulous prizes will be raffled off at each garden! BicycleSPACE has generously donated a $50 gift card.

Click here for more information.

Professional car washes better for environment

Here's an article that falls under the "you learn something new every day" category. Apparently, its better for the environment to have your car washed at a professional car wash than to wash it at home.

Here are some highlights from a news release put out by the International Carwash Association®.

• Washing your car at home in the driveway with a garden hose uses about 7 gallons of fresh water every minute. In as little as 15 minutes, washing with a hose can use nearly 100 gallons of water.
• Carwashes enrolled in the WaterSavers program ( more than 800 car washes across the United States and Canada) meet stringent environmental standards for water use and treatment. WaterSavers car washes use a maximum of 40 gallons of water per car in conveyor and in-bay/rollover systems. Self-service washes in the program maintain high-pressure systems that use 3 gallons of water per minute or less.
• “It’s important to note,” says Eric Wulf, CEO of the Chicago-based International Carwash Association, “that washing vehicles on paved surfaces sends runoff containing soap and other harmful chemicals into storm sewers that empty into our streams, rivers and lakes. In contrast, professional car washes collect, treat and recycle waste water, discharging any remaining water into the local water treatment system, where it is processed before being released into waterways.”
• Research shows that runoff from driveway or pavement washing can harm wildlife. A Washington state environmental firm collected actual runoff from a car wash fundraiser held in a parking lot. Rainbow trout were exposed to the runoff, and all the fish died within 24 hours. A second test, of water that contained the same concentration of detergent a car owner might use to wash a vehicle at home, produced similar results.

There is a really great, promotional video about the program on their website washwithwatersavers.com. You can also locate the Watersaver carwash that is closest and most convenient to you.

Maryland First State to Require Environmental Literacy in Schools

I was visiting a garden center one day and I overheard an elderly couple talking about creating a butterfly garden. They were in their 70's or 80's I'd say, and they were very excited about the prospect of being able to attract butterflies to their yard. They had learned all about butterfly gardening, they said, from their granddaughter, who had learned it in school.

I love passing along that story, because I think it is such a great example of why environmental literacy is so important.

I don't remember learning much about the environment when I was in school. I do remember refusing to participate when we were asked to dissect frogs. And I remember a horrid "lesson"  that required us to follow the progress of eggs in an incubator, taking one out each day and breaking it open to see the various stages of the developing baby chick. That experience made me almost nauseous at the thought of eating eggs for many years. I honestly can't remember one thing I learned in school that helped to foster my present day love for the environment.

But much of that is changing in today's school systems, especially in the state of Maryland.

Maryland has become the first state to make “Environmental Literacy” a requirement in the school curriculum for all enrolled students as of 2011.

"The standards are very broad," said Bill Reinhard, a spokesman for the Maryland State Department of Education. "Maryland is so connected to its environment through bays, mountains and the ocean. This is just a natural progression of what we are already doing. For kids, it's always a highlight of the school year to be involved in environmental course work."

Officials said most schools and districts were already meeting the requirements, and the new standards were to ensure every student was getting the same level of education on the environment.

"Each elementary school in Anne Arundel County is building a garden for monarch butterflies, as a hook to understand monarch butterflies and ecology of the bay," said Tom Zolper, a representative of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which helped push for the requirements. "Often times kids are helping to build the gardens, then they are recording and making graphs, working it into math, social studies and biology. That's in your schoolyard, but kids are using streams that are a block away and taking nets and seeing what microvertebrate are present. "

Imagine getting kids so excited about the environment that they can go home and explain to their parents the dangers of pesticides and wasting water and other things that we didn't learn because we were following the stale old curriculums of 10 or 20 or 30 years ago. Congratulations to the state of Maryland for taking this step. I hope that other states will soon follow their path.

You can read more about this initiative from the article I found on Delmarvanow.com

Or you can follow this link to take a look at the Maryland State Environmental Literacy Curriculum (Draft)

Raingarden seminar

WHAT:   Seminar to promote the environmental benefits represented by rain gardens.  Homeowners will learn how to properly site, design, construct and maintain do-it-yourself rain gardens.

WHEN:    Saturday, October 1st, 9:30 – 12:30.   Check-in begins at 9 a.m.

WHERE:     Marymount University – Caruthers Building, room 1021, 2807 North Glebe Road, Arlington        

WHO:   Hosted by the Town of Herndon’s Department of Public Works and MarymountUniversity, respectively, in cooperation with the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, the Community Appearance Alliance of Northern Virginia, and ArtSpace Herndon.

WHY:   Stormwater runoff is the number one water quality problem throughout Northern Virginia, carrying pollutants to local streams, larger bodies of water and ultimately theChesapeake Bay.  Rain gardens allow stormwater to infiltrate into the ground, slowing its flow and preventing pollutants from reaching local waterways.  Due to their ability to retain and filter water, rain gardens also aid homeowners in solving drainage or standing water problems.

 COST:              The seminar is free and open to the public.

CONTACT:       Registration is requested.  To reserve a seat for the seminar, contact Laura Grape, Senior Environmental Planner with the Northern Virginia Regional Commission at lgrape@novaregion.org or 703-642-4625

 For more information, visit www.novaregion.org/raingardens