Gardening Festivals

We attended our first gardening festival as exhibitors this past weekend in the beautiful city of Fort Collins, Colorado. The town has plenty of gardens to enjoy, and lots of folks interested in gardening. One thing that I loved was how many people came out with their children, to help them learn how to garden, how important honey bees are to gardens, and best of all - about composting! We had examples of things that we use in our composting on our table: grass clippings, coffee grounds, straw and alfalfa, dried leaves, drier lint, pet hair and vacuum bag contents. Since we, like most composting folks, have plenty of greens (nitrogen) to contribute to the compost pile, but struggle to keep the mix of browns (carbons) high enough, we add the drier lint and animal hair. Still usually not enough, we add BiOWiSH™ Compost Boost to keep the organisms activated and breaking down that compostable material. This ensures that we have a new batch of compost to add to our garden every 4-6 weeks. Our garden loves it! And we love the produce that we are getting from our garden. Always looking for new ways to use zucchini, here is a recipe I found for Chilled Zucchini and Green-Bean Soup with Pesto Swirl:
(Start to finish: 1 hour. Servings: 6)
Ingredients
2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 lb zucchini, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
4 cups chicken broth (reduced sodium works great)
10 oz package frozen shelled edamame
1/2 lb green beans, ends trimmed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 cup store bought basil pesto
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream or plain greek yogurt(optional)
Directions
In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and zucchini and saute' until very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in edamame and green beans and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for 15 minutes.
Transfer the soup, in batches if necessary, to a blender or food processor. Puree', then season with salt and pepper.
Serve the soup chilled or at room temperature. When serving, divide the soup among 6 bowls and swirl a spoonful of pesto into each. Top with sour cream or yogurt, if desired. Enjoy this low calorie (135)refreshing soup, and at the same time, increase your intake of healthy vegetables! Happy Composting!

Feel Good...Garden!

The news is rife with articles about gardening and I'm loving it! We have the Grow insert in our Denver Post weekly which overflows with information about plants and gardening, and there was the article about the woman who had survived WWII teaching school children about victory gardens, and then the school that dedicated a portion of their grounds for some third graders to grow a garden and learn about where food comes from. It's all the rage, I tell you! The reasons are varied, but one of the best reasons that gardening is popular is that it's just plain good for you.

Gardening provides physical exercise that helps prevent heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. It helps prevent osteoporosis if you're lifting water jugs, pushing a garden cart or turning compost.

When you're working in the garden you're most likely relieving stress and getting lots of fresh air. There's a connection to nature, and a brain boost as you plan your garden and research tools and plants.

Then there's the obvious: if you grow it, you'll eat it. Fresh vegetables and fruits improve your physical wellbeing. You can control the use of pesticides and fertilizers. You will notice how much better the food tastes when it's picked and consumed the same day, and need we talk about using fresh herbs to enhance the flavors of your meals? Think about how much sugar and salt you can cut back on when fresh herbs are used instead.

So get out there and dig in. Garden with your kids, or the neighbors, and build relationships through gardening. Don't forget to add organic compost in your garden for healthier, more productive plants, and a healthier you. Happy Composting!

The Facts on Waste

You may be astounded, like I was, to find that approximately 3 thousand TONS of garbage are added to our landfills each year! The EPA further estimates that almost a ton of waste is generated by each person in the US each year, and that 70% of that can be recycled and composted. That's a heck of a lot of what could be wonderful soil amendment that's instead getting added to the landfill each year!
I know that it's easier to throw it out than to compost it, but the benefits, to me, far outweigh the drawbacks. After all, nobody wants a landfill in their neighborhood; the smell, pests, the eye sore, decreasing property values, etc. And most of us these days are fairly good at conserving our water resources, but don't realize that about 3 gallons of water is used each time we run the garbage disposal to grind up kitchen waste. Instead of building better bigger landfills and wasting precious water, we could be making our own compost that will provide our gardens and lawn with a valuable boost of natural fertilizer. We can also be sharing this activity with the next generation, spending time with the children in our lives and teaching them how to better care for our world and ourselves.
Composting can be accomplished many different ways. My grandparents had a pile next to their garden that they added to each day. I don't remember them every turning it, so it may have taken quite a while to break down. A three sided apparatus can be put together with almost any materials: cinderblocks, old pallets, cyclone fencing, almost anything that you can build with can be used to build an area for compost. It just needs to allow for air circulation and a surface to keep things together. This method is inexpensive, but you'll need to put your back and arms into it, turning it over with a pitchfork or a compost 'tiller'. You'll almost most likely be dealing with pests...the kind that like decomposing food. Ick! Finally there are bins commericially available that can be sealed up pretty tight to keep pests out, but there would still be the issue of having to manually turn it at least once a week.
Or you can splurge a little and get yourself and your family a tumbling composter. www.BestComposters.com has a selection of the finest tumbling composters available anywhere. An easy turn of a handle and you’re providing your compost with the aeration that it needs to keep all those wonderful organisms happy and heated up. You'll be helping reduce the amount of trash added to landfills, reducing the water consumption and waste, and making some great soil amendment that will help your garden and lawn prosper! Come on in and order yours today!