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Post by capncrunch on Jan 19, 2015 12:22:34 GMT -6
Does anyone start their own plants now so they would be ready to put in the garden when it is time? I'm thinking about starting my tomatoes and peppers.
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Post by Anonymous on Jan 20, 2015 7:02:43 GMT -6
Thanks for the reminder. We need to get planning ours. I've thought about starting our own plants. Still might.
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Post by capncrunch on Jan 20, 2015 13:40:18 GMT -6
I honestly have not started ours yet. I am not sure, I will more and likely buy them from John and Joes. But I would like to start my ghost peppers, trinadad peppers, and green peppers and maybe the tomatoes. I would like to start the lemon boys.
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Post by Anonymous on Jan 21, 2015 7:08:35 GMT -6
Our tomatoes did horrible last year. The cherry ones did very well but not the big ones.
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Post by capncrunch on Jan 23, 2015 13:22:16 GMT -6
Disposable Diapers in the Garden!
Where I live, it gets very hot in the summer. My deck doesn’t have any shade and some of my plants needed to be watered twice a day. I was going to buy the granules that hold water from the garden center. A small container of the water granules was $25!
Even though I really needed it to keep my plants going this summer, I just couldn’t come to bring myself to pay that much. One day, I was thinking about it as I was changing my son’s diaper. Then it dawned on me! The same stuff is in baby diapers!!!
I tore open the center of a diaper and scooped out all the cotton with the granules in it into a bowl. Out of curiosity I wanted to see just how much water it would hold. I was hoping for two cups. It held NINE cups of water! That means I could use this stuff in 3-5 containers of plants, depending on the size. I can get diapers for .20 each so the cost isn’t huge.
Remember, Always Think Outside the Box
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Post by dog on Jan 23, 2015 14:17:49 GMT -6
Disposable Diapers in the Garden! Where I live, it gets very hot in the summer. My deck doesn’t have any shade and some of my plants needed to be watered twice a day. I was going to buy the granules that hold water from the garden center. A small container of the water granules was $25! Even though I really needed it to keep my plants going this summer, I just couldn’t come to bring myself to pay that much. One day, I was thinking about it as I was changing my son’s diaper. Then it dawned on me! The same stuff is in baby diapers!!! I tore open the center of a diaper and scooped out all the cotton with the granules in it into a bowl. Out of curiosity I wanted to see just how much water it would hold. I was hoping for two cups. It held NINE cups of water! That means I could use this stuff in 3-5 containers of plants, depending on the size. I can get diapers for .20 each so the cost isn’t huge. Remember, Always Think Outside the Box My wife has done this for a few years now, but she just opens the diaper and lays it the bottom. She doesn't take the guts out of the diaper.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2015 20:57:32 GMT -6
Home News Local
STHS in beginning stages of planning community garden
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Posted: Monday, February 2, 2015 9:35 pm | Updated: 10:26 pm, Mon Feb 2, 2015.
Jaci Kohn, jacik@mywebtimes.com, 815-673-6372 | 0 comments
A community garden could be in the works at Streator Township High School.
At the January STHS board of education meeting, new agriculture teacher Riley Hintzsche presented a plan for the garden. He described what he hoped the students and community would gain by having this program.
"When I came to Streator, I recognized the need for three things: summer student involvement, an agricultural program project, as well as the need for food for the local food pantries," Hintzsche told The Times. "This made me think of the Edible Acre that was implemented at Evanston High School. I then jumped on the opportunity to locate a place where the Streator High School Agriculture Program could have a project that taught students real life skills, allowed them to stay involved during the summer months, and allowed the program to give back to the Streator community."
Hintzsche said he found the edible acre program in spring 2014, after spending numerous hours looking at different agricultural programs located throughout the Northern Illinois area. He looked at both urban and rural schools to get an overall understanding the types of ag programs located throughout the state as well as visualize what programs may work well in Streator. The edible acre at Evanston High School stood out to him because it consisted of many different programs in one: horticulture, biology and food science.
The program at Evanston is housed in a former abandoned lot on the school grounds, where students used to smoke. Now it is a student-run garden with numerous raised beds that keep produce off the ground and available for students to access easily.
The goal is to have the community garden operating by spring 2016. At this time, Hintzsche is looking for grants, funds and sponsorship dollars to implement the garden.
"This will not cost the district anything," he added. "The only cost to the district would be the piece of land that is being considered for the project which is currently being used for parking during the sport season. The agricultural program will seek out grants and external funds in order to find sponsorship for the event."
Once the needed funds have been located, construction will begin to create the garden. However, the garden will have to be fully fenced in and the cost of the raised beds will not be cheap, Hintzsche added. Nonetheless, he is confident with the support of the community and grant dollars the program will be able to find the appropriate funds to implement the garden.
As the garden is built, so will be the curriculum for the class. The two go hand-in-hand because the curriculum will be fully based on hands-on learning as well as the implementation of student leadership opportunities. The garden will incorporate all learning aspects from Food Science, Ag Leadership and communication, Agriculture Business, Agriculture Mechanics and many others. Students also will learn problem solving, critical thinking and communication as apart of daily life skills.
'The news of the community garden has spread fast in the last couple days," Hintzsche said. "I feel very honored to say numerous individuals have offered plots of lands or have made suggestions on places in which the garden could be placed."
At the board meeting, Hintzsche said they were initially looking into three areas for the garden, however he was open to suggestions. He wanted the location to be close to the school grounds so the students can be involved during the school year without having to be transported to the location.
"The goal is that the garden will give back to the community through food pantries," said Hintzsche. "Additionally, it will allow students to sell produce to local stores and businesses at a lower, reduced cost in order to learn the skills in agricultural business."
"...my hope is that in the future, students will manage the community garden fully as a Supervised Agricultural Experience which is a student based learning project. Students would fully manage all aspects of the garden in order to become a stronger leader and better entrepreneur."
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Post by cityslicker on Feb 4, 2015 7:27:31 GMT -6
Why is there a need for food pantries? I heard the dumbacrat president and the last Illinois governor,the two Illinois dumbacrat controlled branches of state government, say the economy was going strong and unemployment was rebounding. Who was not speaking of the truth? Even the barely re-elected"puppet" from LaSalle- Peru, said that.
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Post by father of two on Feb 4, 2015 7:30:42 GMT -6
Because some old people can't get by on social security alone. They need a little help.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2015 7:50:10 GMT -6
Because some old people can't get by on social security alone. They need a little help. Hey don't take this wrong .. I didn't think only old people went to the food pantry is all I wanted to point out.. Seems I remember my mother getting food from the Salvation army and somewhere else when I was young thats all...
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Post by father of two on Feb 4, 2015 8:33:52 GMT -6
Slicker asked why there is a need for food pantries.
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Post by toshiko on Feb 4, 2015 8:37:16 GMT -6
Just checked, my flowers, I, bring in, and I have little tiny leaves popping, thru the soil!!!! That is a good sign! One, I did not kill them and 2, spring is nearer! I used to get cheese, powdered milk, and butter from the Salvation Army, in the late 70s.
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Post by capncrunch on Feb 8, 2015 14:52:33 GMT -6
I made sauerkrat last summer after I grew the cabbage in my garden and I'm really getting the taste again and can not wait until the garden is ready for this year. Hopefully no drought thoug, like they are predicting.
The homemade sauerkraut European immigrants brought with them to United States included a wider variety of ingredients than fermented cabbage and salt. Apples, turnips, juniper berries, wine, garlic — and Brussels sprouts — were all part of the mix. Photo by Rick Wetherbee Slideshow
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A traditional fall recipe for the Japanese version of sauerkraut.
If you’ve only eaten store-bought, canned sauerkraut, you owe it to yourself to try the homemade variety. Fresh sauerkraut has a crunchier texture, a delightfully tangy flavor and a much greater potential for interesting recipes.
When European immigrants brought the technique for fermenting cabbage to the United States, many of their recipes included surprising ingredients such as apples, turnips, juniper berries, wine and garlic. In fact, traditional sauerkraut is very similar to the Korean dish kimchi, a food that’s also made with fermented cabbage but that contains additional vegetables, such as radishes and cucumbers, and is seasoned with ginger and other spices.
There’s nothing wrong with the classic, just-plain-cabbage variety of sauerkraut usually eaten on a hot dog or pork chop. But homemade sauerkraut made with additional vegetables, herbs and spices is more than a condiment; it’s a delicious side dish all on its own — and a surprisingly healthy one. Superhealthy Sauerkraut
Perhaps because it’s often paired with hot dogs, sauerkraut doesn’t have a reputation as an especially healthy food, but that’s been changing in the last few years. One reason is that sauerkraut is a live-culture “probiotic” food. Fresh sauerkraut contains lactobacilli, beneficial bacteria that improve the functioning of the digestive tract. Probiotic foods such as sauerkraut and yogurt are often recommended for people taking antibiotics, which kill both the beneficial and harmful bacteria in the body. Live-culture foods can help restore the beneficial bacteria.
Sauerkraut also is a good source of fiber and essential nutrients, including iron, vitamin K and vitamin C. In fact, in the 18th century, sailors ate sauerkraut on long voyages to prevent scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency.
Another interesting health claim was made last fall by a group of Korean scientists. They reported that feeding an extract of kimchi to 13 chickens with avian flu led to a much lower mortality rate in the birds. More research is needed to support this claim, but the announcement fueled a spike in sauerkraut sales last year. Scientists also are studying cabbage and other vegetables in the brassica family for their potential to prevent breast cancer.
In spite of its many health benefits, most sauerkraut is still loaded with salt. If you’re on a low-sodium diet, you may be better off avoiding sauerkraut entirely, or making your own at home with a low-salt recipe. Do Try This at Home
Making your own sauerkraut is a terrific way to preserve an abundant harvest of cabbage, and it’s a remarkably simple process that requires just two basic ingredients — shredded cabbage and salt. A few simple tools can make the process even easier. You can shred the cabbage with a regular vegetable grater, but a full-sized cabbage slicer is easier and more fun. These large graters look like antiques, but you can purchase one through eBay for $15 or less.
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Post by capncrunch on Feb 16, 2015 14:33:50 GMT -6
This worked well for me for many years - it's a simple, weed-free way to grow lettuce, spinach and even radishes. Take a 2 cubic feet bag of potting soil (I used Miracle Grow), rumple it around quite a bit to loose the soil, poke quite a few holes in the back side for drainage, then lay the bag on a smooth surface that will allow drainage and not get too hot, and cut out the top, leaving about a 4 or 5 inch border all around. Lightly rake through the soil to even it out and loosen it even more, then carefully, and evenly sprinkle the seeds around. I put my salad green seeds in an old spice bottle with large shaker holes, added some cornmeal, shook it all up to mix well and sprinkled them out of it. I put the cornmeal in there to allow me to see that I had covered the soil evenly. If doing radish seeds or spinach, just make lines the depth mentioned on the seed pack, plant the seeds and cover appropriately. For salad greens I sprinkled a lite covering of soil over the cornmeal and seeds and then spray-misted to water them in. I put my bags on metal sawhorses and grates to make them waist level. This kept the bags off the hot concrete and I didn't have to bend over when cutting my salad. When harvesting, just use a pair of scissors and cut what you need - don't pull the plants out. Same goes for spinach - they will grow back almost magically overnight, and you can't tell where you cut. Spray mist the seeds and plantlings at first when watering, until they are established, then you can water more vigorously as the plants mature. You will probably need to water more often, since the depth of the bags are not as deep as a regular in-ground garden. I just kept mine moist, but not sopping wet.
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Post by helencrump on Feb 16, 2015 22:24:47 GMT -6
^^^^ arent you going to credit your source from the internet, for that?
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