Tag Archives: rain barrel

Happy Earth Day 2013

education, fellow gardeners, to do

According to the Earth Day Network, April 22nd (Earth Day) “marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.” The newly founded holiday united people from both ends of the political and socioeconomic spectrum. It also led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States.

This past Saturday, our city’s zoo held an Earth Day celebration. Though it was freezing and I could barely feel my fingers afterward, I really enjoyed chatting with the local organizations who where set up around the zoo. They had some great educational resources I can put to use on the Lot, and opportunities to fulfill the volunteer hours required for the Master Gardener Volunteer certification.

Wild Ones

This not-for-profit, national organization was founded in 1977 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Local chapters focus on sharing information with the community about landscaping with native plants. Their approach to gardening promotes “biodiversity and environmentally sound practices.” The local chapter for our community is the River City Wild Ones. More info about the national organization is available at www.wildones.org.

WMEAC

The West Michigan Environmental Action Council is a non-profit founded in 1968 and has since “provided West Michigan citizens a means to take action on behalf of the environment.” This group’s main focus is on “Building Sustainable Communities and Protecting Water Resources.” I have seen efforts of the WMEAC around the city in the form of rain barrel workshops and community garden projects. As I chatted with the lone, young woman manning this table, she told me the rest of her team was at the riverfront helping with sand bag efforts because of the flooding we have been having in our area. More info is at wmeac.org.

Grand Rapids Environmental Services

This is a department of our city, but I was pleased to see how much they were doing to integrate education of water quality into their everyday responsibilities. A direct mail program featuring environmental tips has been included in the city water billing system. Information about their efforts in building rain gardens to help manage storm water runoff is available on their website.

What I found most exciting is the new Adopt a Catch Basin program offered by Environmental Services. City residents can adopt a catch basin near their home, keeping it clean of leaves and debris, for award points through myGRCityPoints. The catch basin program educates city residents about stormwater runoff leading directly to the river and not passing through a treatment plant. This will be a definite addition to Lot gardening practices.

Blanford Nature Center

Last, but definitely not least, I stopped by the table for the Blanford Nature Center. I have visited the center several times before, along with what is becoming annual visits for the Garlic Mustard Pull. This place does a great job on providing children’s and community programs to teach good environmental stewardship. I enjoyed chatting about Toad Abodes, little shelters made from unused terracotta pots, with Kristin at this table. Another to-do for the Lot!

Education is the First Step

All of the programs reminded me we are a part of something larger and therefore have certain responsibilities to uphold when it comes to this planet’s ecosystem. When talking with all the various organizations, they stressed the importance of making educational materials available to the community. That way city residents can arm themselves with the knowledge and be empowered to make changes, even if small ones, to sustain the health of our environment for future generations.

2013 Smart Gardening Conference

compost, disease, education, gardening sites, pest control

MSU Smart Gardening

First a disclaimer: other than having gone through the Master Gardener Volunteer Program this past fall, I do not officially represent the MSU Extensions office. However, as a fledgling Master Gardener Volunteer, I am really excited about what I learned at the conference yesterday and feel it is important to share with anyone interested. Information about best practices in gardening is always changing so no matter how long one has been gardening, there is always more to learn.

What is “Smart Gardening?”

This year the extensions office has been repositioning to focus on Smart Gardening. The concept involves being informed before taking action; we can then put our knowledge of gardening to use with the least amount of negative impact on our environment. Before anyone flies into a rant about dirty hippies, know this approach to gardening is a nice compromise between having a beautiful garden/lawn, being considerate of the rest of us, and saving some $$$. If anything else, my fellow Americans should be happy about that last one.

A Few Key Concepts

We were given a ton of information at the conference spread out over the course of four presentations. The presenters included Joe Lamp’l (PBS’s ‘Joe Gardener’), Dr. Rufus Isaacs  and Dr. Dave Smitley (MSU’s Department of Entomology), and Rebecca Finneran (MSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Educator). I’ll record a lot of info on this blog during the next few weeks while waiting for spring. Here are just a few key points:

Water Management

  • Conserve water through the use of rain barrels.
  • Prevent runoff with rain gardens, green rooftops, and dry creek beds.
  • Reduce the need for watering with the use of mulch.
  • Catch “warm-up” water from within the house to use in the garden.

Compost

  • Reduce need for fertilizer by using compost.
  • 65% of landfill items are recyclable or compostable for backyard bins.
  • Reduce cost of yard waste removal by using grass clippings and leaves in the garden or compost bin.

Fertilizer & Pesticide Use

  • Understand plant requirements first: Right plant; right place.
  • Group plants with similar needs together.
  • Only 3% of insects are harmful; why spray the whole garden?
  • Plant bio-diversity to naturally attract beneficial insects / pollinators.

Smart Gardening Resources

The MSU Gardening in Michigan website is full of free literature on how to practice Smart Gardening at home. Many tips can be put into practice far beyond the Michigan growing zone. Before scalping the lawn, over-fertilizing the garden, or waging chemical warfare on possibly beneficial insects, give the site a look. In the case of a specific gardening question, Michigan residents can call the MSU Extensions Hotline at 1-888-678-3464.

 

To Do

compost, sidewalk bed, to do, transplant,

This past Thursday and Friday, the temperature around here spiked into the upper fifties. At the stroke of 5:00, I rushed home and was outside cleaning up the garden. It was wonderful. All of my irises, sedum and ornamental grasses are cut back. Bulbs are poking out of the ground all over our lot. Some of them I haven’t seen before. I’m so excited. It’s like Christmas.

Today it’s raining. Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain. So, I’m stuck inside thinking of the projects I would like to accomplish outside this season.

Transplant Sidewalk Bed

We have water coming into our basement whenever there is a hard rain, so we’ll be redoing the grading on this side of the house. As a result, everything in this sidewalk bed has to be moved. There are irises, lilies, astilbe, sedum, coral bells and a peony. Last fall, I already gave Mom G two carpet roses from this bed. She has much more room at her place for the sprawling type of plants. 
Transplant a Rose Bush
I have so much homework to do on roses. My friend, Miss A, has the most unbelievable gorgeous rose bush at her place. I on the other hand, don’t know what I am doing with roses. What I do know is I cannot have our rose bush in the front bed climbing out of there again and trying to catch neighbors. I think it was getting ideas from those irises. Anyway, the rose bush is tucked between two evergreen bushes up front. It doesn’t have enough sun or room to do well up there. I’m going to attempt to move it into the backyard along the fence line.
Learn about Composting
When we moved in, there was already a compost pile started in the back yard. However, much of it was lawn clippings and leaves that had not been shredded. Being a free standing pile of “stuff,” it was quite a task to get it into something resembling order. I’m not sure how I want to handle it this summer. It’d be nice to contain it somehow. Last summer it was in the process of kicking down our fence. This one will require some more brainstorming and research.
Build a Rain Barrel
Many gardeners I know swear by rainwater. They say their plants are just happier receiving rainwater over city/well water. My grandmother who lives in Europe is an avid gardener. One thing I noticed about the gardens over there are the different containers used to collect rainwater. The rainwater is then used to water the plants in the garden. What a great idea. It seems a much more efficient use of resources.
After reading various sets of instructions on how to build one, I think I can handle it. I’ll be referencing a combination of this and this when it’s time to construct one.