Hummingbirds trying to beat the heat

These photos weren't taken locally, but I just had to share them. My friend Pam Winegar moved across the country to California and she and husband Richard are always sharing the most wonderful photos with me. She gave me permission to share them with you.

Pam's Comments:

"We enjoyed watching a pair of hummingbirds at a cherub fountain at Filoli Gardens. The birds were dipping their bills into the fountain to wash off yellow pollen. Sometimes the hummingbirds put their whole heads underwater - it was quite a sight!"

Pam

Free mulch and other garden goodies

I was just standing in line at the local dollar store listening to a couple of women talking about how they just MUST bring home toys for their dogs every time they go shopping so that Bowzer and Fido don’t get their feelings hurt.

I thought it was kind of amusing that people would admit to being so well-trained by their pets.

Then I looked at what I was buying and realized that I am the same way with my gardens.

Today I was buying ten-for-a-dollar packages of flower seeds, a small misting bottle and a watering can. But truth be told, I rarely come home from running errands without bringing SOMETHING home for the garden. This could get pretty costly, but some of the things that I bring home are free (or pretty close to it).

Take compost and mulch, for example. Compost and mulch are both great for putting nutrients back into the soil and for retaining moisture, helping your plants through times of heat and drought. And there are plenty of ways to get free compost and mulch.

Many gardeners already know that Starbucks introduced Grounds for Your Garden back in 1995, which offers customers complimentary five-pound bags of used coffee grounds to enrich garden soil. Even if you aren’t a coffee drinker (is there still anyone out there that DOESN’T drink coffee) you can stop by your nearest Starbucks to pick up a bag of these garden goodies (and maybe just ONE little sweet goodie for yourself, too, while you are there.)

Another thing that I’ve learned to do is to ALWAYS buy the largest produce, when it is sold by the piece rather than the pound. I used to be on the lookout for the smallest cucumbers or packages of Romaine because I didn’t want to be wasteful and then I realized “Ooooooh. The leftovers are free compost!”

I’ve also been known to ask my neighbors for piles of leaves they just raked up or the grass I see them emptying after they mow their lawn (although I don't know why anyone uses a grass catcher when it is so much healthier to just let the grass fall where it may.)

You can also get mulch from various waste management departments in the area. It is always best to call ahead of time to make sure that mulch is available.

Frederick County offers low cost single ground and double ground mulch as well as premium compost for as little as $8.00 a ton. They’ll even load it into your open bed truck for you. This mulch is made from collected yard trimmings, brush, landscape debris and other valuable organic matter. More information about this low-cost mulch, including where and when it can be picked up, can be found on the Frederick County Government site or you can call 301-600-2960 for more information.

Residents of Arlington Virginia can get free mulch or even have the mulch delivered. More information can be found on their Brush, Mulch and Fill Dirt page or call 703-228-6570.

The City of Falls Church also has free mulch available. The do not provide delivery, but their website includes a Residential Mulch Hauling Referral List to help you find someone who will deliver the mulch for you. For more information call 703-248-5176.

Do you know of any other great sources for free or low cost garden goodies? If so, let us know!

How dry I am. How dry we'll be….

Ugh. I just read that ALL of Virginia is now under a drought watch. A news release issued by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is urging all residents to minimize non-essential water use and to do their part to conserve water to help protect water supplies.

For tips on how to save water in your landscape, visit the Water Wise Use tips and Tips for the Home Gardener for Efficient Water Use

Compost helps plants through heat and drought

Previously, I had posted a question about whether it would be okay to put cooked, whole wheat pasta into a compost pile. We always seem to cook too much and I hate to throw anything away. The pasta didn’t have any ingredients that I thought were questionable, other than egg whites, which I wasn’t sure about. So I was seeking some expert opinions.

Composting, of course, is a very eco-friendly and easy process for any home gardener. When used as an additive for garden soil, it can help plants make it through times of drought and hot weather.

Organic matter such as yard and food waste make up about 23% of the waste that is generated in the United States. Composting is a way to re-use this organic waste to keep it out of the landfills while creating natural soil additives for your gardens. When worked into the soil, compost provides essential nutrients, improves soil texture, moderates temperatures, and increases the ability of the soil to absorb air and water. It also suppresses weed growth, decreases erosion, and reduces the need to apply commercial soil additives, thereby saving you money.

With many local jurisdictions banning yard wastes, composting is an important part of waste management in the Metro DC area.

Generally, there are certain “do’s” and “don’ts” about what can be added to a compost pile.

The “do’s” are items such as grass clippings, leaves, sawdust, fruit and produce waste, old plants, coffee grounds and shredded newspapers.

The “don’ts” include meat, fish, bones, dairy foods, fats, and oil or grease because they smell, attract pests, and retard the biological process that converts the organic material to compost.

Since pasta didn’t seem to easily fit into either of those categories, I wanted some other opinions.

I received an answer from Kelly Smith, an author who is currently writing a book called How to Build, Maintain and Use a Compost System. She said:

“There is no reason not to add pasta to your compost UNLESS it is covered in an oily sauce of some kind. Grease and oil can smother the bacteria that decompose items in your compost. But if it is just leftover spaghetti with no oily sauces don't worry about it. It will break down just fine.”

I hadn’t really thought about the oil, but I had used a bit while cooking my pasta, so I decided to just throw it in the trash. In the future, I’ll probably skip the oil when I make my pasta and go ahead and add it to my compost.

If you have ever considered making your own compost, now is the perfect time to start. Whether you just decide to create compost with your grass, leaves and other yard waste or add your kitchen scraps, such as coffee grounds, your plants (and the planet) will benefit from it.

For local information about creating compost, see our new Topics, Links and Resources Page

Nice article about passalong plants

I love sharing plants through plant swaps or any other means of getting something green and growing for nothing, so I loved it when I saw this nice article about Passalong Plants.

I'm sure I will cover this topic from time to time but for now, why not read this great article by Eileen Wekler, the DC Feng Shui Home and Garden Examiner?

Another place that I have often gone to find plants to swap is the forums section of gardenweb.com. You can even swap plants through the mail with people and it is a LOT of fun to get a surprise package of plants in the mail.

Nude gardening to beat the heat

"When you're out there with a gentle breeze on you, every last hair on your body feels it. You feel completely connected with the natural world in a way you just can't in clothes."  
- Barbara Pollard

As hot as it has been outside lately, it's not uncommon to see gardeners shedding more and more clothes as they work in the garden. If you decide to go completely au naturale, I have two words of advice for you. Use Sunscreen.

Sure, I could offer more words of advice, such as the penalties for indecent exposure (which can include jail time AND a hefty fine), but what fun would that be? Maybe it will help us all stay a little cool if we at least THINK NAKED while we are out there gardening.

So in an effort to help you pass the time while you are taking a break from the heat, here are some thoughts on nude gardening:

• Did you know that July 5 - 11th is Nude Recreation Week? I didn't either. Nude Recreation Week began as Nude Recreation Weekend in 1976 in an effort to encourage first time nudists to enjoy "clothes-free" recreation wherever they are.
• But wait! There is also a World Naked Gardening Day, which we already missed. The fifth annual World Naked Gardening Day was celebrated this year on May 8th. While visiting the World Naked Gardening Day website I learned "Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude."
• That website also led me to Abbey House Gardens, a unique and beautiful garden in England that is home to Ian and Barbara Pollard, authors of The Naked Gardeners. Their gardens are open to the public and they list the clothing optional days on their site.
• I already knew that Alicia Silverstone likes to garden in the nude. She apparently picked up the habit from friend Woody Harrelson. She explained her propensity for doffing her duds to dabble in the dirt in an interview with Health magazine . “[It] probably started when I was doing my garden the first time,” she said. “I’d be out there, and it would be scorching hot, so I would take off all of my clothes and garden. And then I would jump in the pool and swim – and I always get in the pool naked. I used to spend a lot of time with Woody Harrelson, and he’s not afraid to get naked,” she added.
• Other celebrities that have been hinted to garden in the nude include Shakira (the post I read just said that she likes to garden AND that she likes to be nude, but doesn't mention her doing both at the same time); Catherine Zeta-Jones and Eva Mendes, who was quoted as saying "I love being naked. I do everything in the nude, even the gardening. We're Cuban, and it's a hot island. Why not go nude?"
• There is also a book (and accompanying website) out there called Gardening Nude . They aren't really about gettin' nekkid, though, but are "a Common Sense Guide to Improving Your Health and Lifestyle By Increasing Exposure to Nature, Cultivating a Green Mindset, and Building a Strong Community"
• And the absolute BEST thing I found while poking around on the Internet during my gardening break is this great post on Planet Greenentitled: Naked is Bad (For Your Garden's Soil). This wonderful, eco-friendly post, lists several reasons that naked soil is bad, including: 1. Naked soil is vulnerable to erosion., 2. Weeds love naked soil., 3. Naked soil loses carbon, which provides nutrients to plants and soil dwelling organisms.

Okay. That's enough break time for me. I think I'll keep my clothes ON, add a little more sunscreen, and get back to the gardens!

** Links to some of my sources were left out of this post to keep the material PG rated.

Find a WaterSense Irrigation Contractor

Since July is Smart Irrigation Month it is really the optimal time to take at look at your current irrigation system or to consider purchasing an irrigation system that helps you to conserve water.

The average American household uses about 30 percent of its water outdoors. In some parts of the country, this can be as high as 70 percent. Experts estimate that as much as 50 percent of landscape water use gets lost to evaporation, wind, or runoff caused by over-watering. Some households lose up to 70 gallons of water each day!

When my husband and I had our irrigation system installed, we were trying to save money. It ended up being a costly and wasteful mistake.

We knew the contractor and just assumed he would design an efficient layout so we didn’t even ask for a drawing of what he intended to install. We ended up with a minimal number of wide area sprayers and rotors and we could almost see the water being lost to evaporation every time we used it.

We’ve spent so much money RE-designing it with micro-irrigation heads and other water-wise components that I’m sure we have spent more in time and materials then it would have cost us to have it done right the first time.

I wish I had known about WaterSense® Irrigation partners at the time we had it installed.

WaterSense is an EPA-sponsored program that works to protect our nation's water supply by promoting water-efficient products, programs, and practices.

One of the things that they do through the WaterSense program is to certify professionals who have proven expertise in water-efficient technology and techniques, including irrigation system professionals.

All too often, landscape irrigation wastes water—up to 1.5 billion gallons every day across the country. WaterSense irrigation partners can help you reduce your water consumption, save money, and maintain a healthy and beautiful landscape.

In order to become a WaterSense irrigation partner, professionals in the industry must first become certified through a WaterSense labeled certification program. This process helps ensure that WaterSense irrigation partners are trained on designing, installing, and maintaining water-efficient irrigation systems.

If homeowners with irrigation systems hired WaterSense irrigation partners to perform regular maintenance, each household could reduce water used for irrigation by 15 percent, or about 9,000 gallons annually—that's the amount of water that would flow from a garden hose if it was left running for almost a whole day. WaterSense irrigation partners also can help you design and install a new irrigation system or audit an existing one to minimize the amount of water you use, greening your yard in more ways than one.

You can use this handy directory on the WaterSense website to help you find a WaterSense irrigation partner in your area. Select Irrigation Partners under the Partner Type and then select your state to bring up a list of contractors. You can then select each name to bring up more information. Look for businesses that provide Irrigation System Installation and Maintenance for residents. To search by Partner Name, you must enter the name of a particular individual, NOT a business name.

Loudon Water also provides a list of Preferred Irrigation Contractors on their website.

Scare Crows and other Natural bird control for gardens

I just spent a fantastic week in Michigan visiting my husband's family. We spent a few days at Rick and Jane's cabin on Torch Lake and then drove down to Burt to spend the rest of the time with Dutch and Dorothy.

Dorothy is one of the people that helped my husband Tom and I learn a lot about organic gardening. She has beautiful gardens of flowers and fruits and vegetables and the trees in her yard are home to what seems like hundreds of varieties of bird species.

Although Dutch and Dorothy love the birds, they aren't real happy with the fact that the birds often beat them to their strawberries and raspberries.

To try to cut down on the problem, Dorothy and I spent a few hours making this GORGEOUS scarecrow-ess, which we named Bertha. Bertha was fairly easy to construct. We used a screw gun to screw a cross-piece on an old slat from a wooden fence to serve as Bertha's shoulders. We then found an old discarded piece of chicken wire which we wrapped around the fence slat and molded a little to form Bertha's body. The face was created with acryllic paints and the clothes and wig were found in a bag of castoffs headed for the thrift store. Her arms were stuffed with empty beer cans (which were surprisingly easy to find with my husband there visiting). And the flag was added for the Fourth of July.

I know Bertha looks a little stern, but she is a nature lover like me, and really doesn't like the idea of chasing away the birds.

Dorothy was inspired to create a scarecrow after receiving a photo of this scarecrow pair that her sister, Glennie Duke and husband Jim, had made for their Arkansas gardens. I'm sure that passersby enjoy this playful pair as much as I do.

The Virginia Cooperative Extension website offers these additional tips for deterring birds from your fruit plants:

Pest Control. Birds are one of the biggest pests in the strawberry planting. It may be necessary to cover the plants with plastic netting to keep the crop from being eaten before the berries are ripe enough to harvest. Aluminum pie tins, suspended by a string or wire above the plants in such manner that they twist and turn in the breeze, may be successful in keeping birds away.

I checked with local organic gardeners Brian and Linda of Miolea Organic Farm** in Adamson to see what they use to deter the birds.

"On the strawberries, service berry, black and red raspberries we use the scare-eye. It's a yellow ball with black and red circle. For the blue berries and vegetables we use deer netting and or floating row covers."

Have you found other humane ways to protect your fruits and veggies from the birds and other wildlife? If so, let us know!

** Miolea Organic Farms also sells Certified Organic Fertilizer (5-3-4) for the home gardener. $2.00/lb. And CORN GLUTEN - Certified Organic-Non-GMO. Great for lawns and as a weed supressant. $2.50/lb. 20 lbs covers 1,000 sq.ft

Great news for your plants – water restrictions have been lifted

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) has lifted their Mandatory Water Use Restrictions, effective immediately. WSSC serves customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

Customers can use water outdoors to help their plants through this heat.

However, just because the restrictions have been lifted, don't forget to utilize all the new water saving techniques you have learned over the last few days.

You can continue to use graywater from rinsing dishes and vegetables. During the heat of the day watering your plants with a watering can rather than a hose or irrigation system will deliver water directly to the roots and eliminate some evaporation. The evening is the best time for a more thorough watering to help avoid water being evaporated before the water reaches the plant.

To learn more tips for becoming a water-wise gardener, download this pdf file.

Home and Garden News – a great e-newsletter

I'm often touting the local extension system offices as great sources of information for our gardens.

The Home and Garden News e-newsletter from the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center is a great way to bring some of that info right to your inbox.

The July-August issue has all sorts of fun topics including:

• Two Organic Pesticides for Vegetable Gardeners
• Tough Perennials for mid-Atlantic Urban Conditions
• 'Tis the Season for Lightening Bugs
• Monthly Tips from HGIC (Home and Garden Information Center)

You can download a pdf file of the July-August issue of the Home and Garden News here. Or use this link to subscribe and have the bi-monthly newsletter delivered to your inbox.