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NEWSLETTER Cedar Rapids Downtown Kiwanis Club Wednesday, April 11, 2007 The meeting was called to order by President Chuck Wehage. 30 Members in attendance. New members in attendance but not yet inducted: Steve Walrath and Michael Poggenklass. Guests: Terry Main Birthdays: None Anniversaries: None Announcements: Jim Doyne reported that Dwayne Kurrelmeyer had a stroke and is on the 6th floor of St. Luke’s Hospital. He is accepting visitors. Our prayers are with him and Doris. Happy Bucks: Dan Breitbach was happy that his parents went out to dinner with him and his wife on his dad’s birthday and, for once, didn’t stick him with the bill. Don Grimm was happy that the article he wrote for Model Engine Builder Magazine was published. He says this is disrupting his retirement and tax plans. Next week’s program: Speaker: Ellen Scripsky did a talk on being a Master Gardener. She has 11 talks scheduled on this subject in the near future so she is very illustrious.
A kitchen garden is different from other gardens. The kitchen garden uses a raised flowerbed and a raised vegetable bed. It uses vertical gardening and container gardening. These kitchen gardens can be anywhere. She has one that is knee high, 4x4 and 12 inches deep. She uses three cross members so this gives her 16 spaces in which to plant. This is geared for people who live in a condo and want a small vegetable garden. There is a book called All New Square Foot Gardening by Lou Barthalomew.
Ellen says that you should not use Roundup or Burpee paper. Take the sod up and repair the lawn then lay the garden cloth down and put the frame down. You may have to trench it in.
A foot square garden or elevated flowerbed has to have at least eight hours of sunshine a day. Do not use old garden soil, as you will bring disease or insects along. You want a good loam with good drainage. She buys peat and vermiculite by the half-bale and uses three bags of manure that is cow or horse manure. The manure must be three to four years old. She did not say where to get three-year-old cow manure. This gives the best organic matter, which gives the best vegetables. More manure = tasty vegetables! Gotta love that good old cow manure! She uses a mask when she mixes the dirt. This is because it smells. She sneezes when she smells it so that is why she uses a mask. She mixes on a tarp then puts it into her square foot garden or raised garden.
It can be right outside her kitchen door. She needs a pale. No hoes are needed she says. She likes a sharp trowel to dig with. A pencil is important and a pair of scissors. Also gloves are needed. These are used for planting. In square foot gardening a pencil is used to mark 1/2 inch down into the soil to punch holes and put in the seeds. Use purple gloves that are lightweight. Tender gloves are important so that you don't stress the plants.
You won't find some of her plants at the farmer's market. Good companies to buy seeds from are Heritage and Skippers. If you want one of these catalogs she can get it for you.
Think outside the box, she says, and think about picking it fresh and putting it on your table or grill (try to forget about the manure).
When you harvest your vegetables, first cut a loaf of French bread in half, then take all your vegetables, wash them, them then put them all into a food processor and mush them all up. Then put this on your bread with some Parmesan cheese put the concoction in the oven. At this time you should then go out into the back yard and have a beer.
The snow we are having today is good. It melts slowly and is absorbed. Master Gardeners sharpen their hoes on days like this . If you are using a clay pot then make sure it is clean, then soak it overnight before you plant anything in it. If you plant a tomato plant in a clay pot that wasn’t pre-soaked then, after planting, it will pull the moisture from the plant and make it very thirsty! Put a coffee filter in the bottom of your clay pot so that soil doesn't go down into the tray all the time. Also, when planting anything in containers you need excellent drainage. Always add coarse vermiculite and not Pearlite. Pearlite is bad. When you water a container containing Pearlite it floats to the top and then blows away. Coarse vermiculite stays in the soil and absorbs moisture well.
In using square foot gardening or container gardening you need to water the soil regularly and add nutrients. She keeps compost around and adds it every three weeks.
She says to use good common sense when gardening. Crocket's Victory Garden book can't be beat, she says. Go buy it! It is great! It is not on the market anymore so the only way to get it is through eBay. She has four of these books because all her relatives bought them for her. Crocket takes it by the month and tells you what to do if you want to do some gardening in your spare time. Crocket also has flower information. She saw two of these at the used bookstore across from Lindale and was surprised.
She has brochures, too, on gardening, if you want some. For water grass in your yard use Step One to kill. Put on weed control in April and May. Spray your fruit trees now. When the forsythia is blooming then do not prune them. Wait until blooming bushes are done blooming before you prune them, then prune only 1/3 per year.
Get a “Hort Line” card and someone will talk to you if you call him or her. On April 17 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm she will be in Beam Auditorium to introduce Pam Doofey who will speak on “Continuous Color in you Garden”. This is free to the public. Bring your wives or girlfriends, but not both.
Ergonomic pruners are excellent, she says. They are sharp and don't place stress on arthritic hands unless you cut yourself with them, of course, so try not to. Ergonomic weeders are Culver's but she gets them from Garden Supply Magazine.
Wow, she says, the feature story in Garden Supply Magazine this month is "The Kitchen Garden". And they didn’t even know she was coming to our club to talk about that very subject! Ergonomic trowels dig very well and don't hurt. She got hers from Germany. She is <censored> years old and says it was worth every cent to get these ergonomic tools. She has a hat from Jim Beam, she says. It goes down her back so the bugs can't bite her. She always carries water and drinks it when she gets dehydrated. She also carries wipes because she never uses her pruners on another bush before wiping! Always wipe after pruning! You could have diseased hostas with root rot! Beware and don't transmit disease. Wipe, wipe, wipe! Use good shoes to garden! Get some green rubber boots and put them in the front and back and an extra inside. Your feet must have support! Get good gloves, too. Purple, tender ones are good. Compost gloves are different and less tender. Watch out for the worms in the compost so use sturdy gloves. Leather gloves are for thorn bushes like roses. Don't prune roses until the weather is warm. She has bionic gloves developed by a surgeon made of deerskin. This is her third pair. They are washable and she uses for raking and mowing. They have pads on both sides and a heavy strap. Don't get these gloves wet as they will shrivel up. They cost $39 so take care of them for crying out loud. The end.
Word for the day: Homunculus. Defined as a little or diminutive man. A manikin. Submitted: Dr. David Graeff | |||||||||||
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