TGIF

Happy Friday everyone! The lawn & garden questions are coming in, spring must be close! If you are concerned about your lawn or garden and would like to know more about your soil condition, please stop by the Extension Office to pick up a soil test kit.


Today I will share some great garden tid-bits from my go-to book, "Old Time Gardening Wisdom," by Jerry Baker. If you like the Farmer's Almanac, then you'll appreciate these tips from Jerry Baker's, Grandma Putt. "You should plant:
Cabbage and broccoli after dogwoods have dropped their flowers because there is less of a chance of the crops being damaged by root maggots.
Swiss chard, spinach, beets, and onions when the daffodils are in bloom.
Peas when maple trees flower.
Potatoes when white oak leaves are the size of a cat's ear.
Bush beans, pole beans, and cucumbers whent the apple blossoms are dropping.
Warm weather crops like tomatoes, melons, and eggplant when black locust and peonies flower."(Baker, 25)
We call these type of plants identifiers. For example, identifiers tell us when the temperatures and conditions are ideal to plant our vegetables. "Time, experience, patience, and accurate record keeping will teach you a great deal about the temperatures needed for proper plant growth."(Baker, 25) Always remember to keep an eye out for Mother Nature. These are important lessons are not just for gardening, but for everyday life.
For more tips on when to plant your veggies visit:
www.thegardenhelper.com/vegtips.html

Upcoming Events:
April 9th @ 6:00pm--Share the Fun! Come out and support our local 4-H kids at the Benjamin Franklin Elem. School.
April 10th @ 7:00am--RC&D Tree Sale at the Porter County Expo Center. Get your tree for Arbor Day!
April 17th @ 10am--Earth Day at Sunset Hill Farm. Reduce, Reuse, Recylce
April 21st @ 6:00pm--Extension Homemakers Educational Programs
@6:00pm--Can Your Cookware Take the Heat? Corrine Powell, Extension Educator, CFS
@ 7:00pm--Container & Small Gardens; Lyndsay Ploehn, Extension Educator, ANR
Welcome to the world of container gardening! This isn’t your Grandma’s red geraniums and pink impatiens anymore…If you want to learn how to make your small garden space special and enjoyable for the whole family year-round, then we’ll expect to see you at our Small Garden & Container demonstration class. Spring is just around the corner and containers are the perfect choice for your gourmet vegetable & herb garden, or your environmentally friendly succulent garden. If you are looking for advice on your containers, new design ideas, tips on how to plant the perfect container, or just want to get excited about a new growing season, then this is the class for you. Bring a friend, bring your neighbor, and make it the container party of the year!

MIA

I apologize for not posting much this week. Our office computers have been down most of the week. If all is working well tomorrow, I will be sure to post a new blog then. Enjoy the rest of your day today...cross your fingers for tomorrow:-)

A day on the farm...

St. Patrick's Day turned out to be a gorgeous day to be outside! I took that opportunity and went out to visit some of the local farmers in Porter County. I was greeted with nothing but smiles and good ole' Hoosier hospitality! Most of the farms I toured grew seed corn and soybeans, but some great specialty crops like pickles, green beans, and tomatoes. In July I am going to see how the cucumbers are harvested, and maybe get a few for myself:-) Besides crops, a few of the farmers also raise animals. We saw beef cattle, pigmy goats, and hogs. If you are looking for meat to buy, let me know and I will get you in touch with the man to buy from! Birky Farms does more than just market meat, they have a farm stand where they sell homemade pies, sweet rolls, and cater farm dinners when it gets warmer. Now, that's the place to be!
Meeting such wonderful people and being welcomed into the county was what the day was all about. However, seeing the livestock was a highlight of the day for me. It felt good to get out on the farm, and smell the dirt, the crops, and yes, in some cases even the manure was a nice familiar smell. On Ed Drazer's farm, which is over 100 years old, I got to play with a newborn calf. We'll call him Laddy for St. Patrick's Day. Laddy was only 12 hours old when I saw him. He was a large calf, and still a little wobbly, but he sure enjoyed the sunshine on his black coat. After playing with Laddy, we moved right on the another farm, owned by Chris Birky. There I saw some giddy little pigmy goats, and some large, lazy sows soaking up the sun. Their curly, floppy ears are nice for keeping the sun out of their eyes. In the barn were the weaned pigs. They are at the age where they have tons of energy and get very excited when people come around.
Overall, I would rate my day on the farm a 10! I can't wait for my next farm day. A big thanks goes out to all the farmers I met, who took the time to tell me a little bit about themselves and what they do. I will try to reciprocate your hospitality by giving you my full support, and aid in any way you need.

To learn more about what are farmers do, please come out to Ag Days at the Expo/Fairgrounds---May 11-12th

Wear Green!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! I am on my way out the door this morning to be "green", by visiting the local farms of Porter County. I am very excited because it's a beautiful day. I hope all of you are wearing your green today to celebrate this Americanized holiday. If you read about St. Patrick's day, you'll find that we celebrate it with parades, wearing green, and partying, way more than they actually do in Ireland.

If I have more time later in the day, I will post some more fun facts about this lucky holiday. Enjoy your day, and be sure to pinch those people not wearing green!

Green Roofs

So, since we are still on the topic of green for St. Patrick's Day, I thought we should touch on green roofs. I don't know about you, but I love the idea of a roof covered in plants. It greatly enhances the landscape and your house. I think this is one of the best ways to conserve energy for your home while also beautifying your home.
There is a great book called Green Roof Plants (A Resource and Planting Guide) by Edmund and Lucie Snodgrass. Edmund started the first green roof nursery in the United States. One of the largest green roof cities is Chicago. Chicago is famous for it's planting on top of City Hall. However, many other buildings are beginning to follow and reap the benefits of the green roof design. Snodgrass states, "Green roofs offer measurable benefits. They are most valuable in the mitigation and even elimination of water runoff problems associated with growth and development. Green roofs are also capable of filtering particulate matter and improving water quality. Another important benefit is the habitat it provides for wildlife, birds and insects." (Snodgrass 2006)
While most people agree with all of the benefits and the green roof's aesthetic value, most do not know what it takes to transform their roof. There are different types of green roofs, depending on the type of roof you have, and what you want from the design. However, overall, you will need 6 functional layers that consist of 1) roof deck, insulation, waterproofing 2) protection and storage 3) drainage 4)root-permeable filter 5)extensive growing media 6) plants, vegetation. The plants used on green roofs are usually very low maintenance. Succulents, which require little watering, and have a shallow root system, add lots of variety and color. While, native prairie plants and grasses add height, structure, and habitat for the wildlife.
For more information about green roofs, there is a great tutorial to watch at
http://www.youtube.com/user/greenroofsTV
I just wanted to touch on this subject, since it is becoming more popular among cities, one being Chicago. City Hall is available for tours if you are ever interested in seeing a living roof and what it is all about. Finally, as a wrap up, I just want to add that you can take this information and modify to fit your needs. Maybe try out a small area like the roof of your dog house, playhouse, or a shed. Play around with plant mixtures, and see what types of wildlife you might attract. Either way, open your mind to the possibilities of change, and updated ideas.

All Things Green

This week I am going to touch on all things "green" to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I am not talking about the color green, but environmentally "green". This has become a new phrase in our language, "to go green," but what does it really mean to you? or does it have any meaning to you? Phrases like global warming, organic, green products, reducing your carbon footprint...how do they make you feel? I am beginning to wonder what it actually takes to get this label on a product, and if in fact it is really a good thing for our environment or just for marketing. Personally, what I would like to teach our community is to take control of your household. Compost your waste, plant a garden, grow your own food, know your farmers, teach your children and neighbors about community. When we as a community work together and support each other, we in turn care for our community, and what we are passing on to our children. It's not about being a superhero and trying to save the world. It's about treating your neighbors the way you would like to be treated, or treating the earth so that your children can enjoy it the way you once did. There is too much fear in our world and not enough fun and enjoyment. Go camping, hiking, bicycling, walk your local streets, shop your local stores, be friendly to your neighbors. These are the ways we should be focusing on "being green" this year.

Today I have been working on some events coming up that I thought I would share with you all.
Tuesday 6-9pm our Master Gardener training begins. The class is currently full, but follow our blog to see when the next sign up will begin for fall registration.

Wednesday--St. Patrick's Day I am going around to visit local farms and meet the agriculture community of Porter County.

April 9th is Share the Fun, at Ben Franklin Elementary School, starting at 6pm. Come out and enjoy the talent of our youth!

April 9th--Extension Pre-Sale pickup at Pinney Purdue. We are still taking orders for fruit trees, and ornamental shrubs. (219)465-3555

April 10th is the RC&D Tree Sale 7am...Be sure to come out early and get your arbor day tree

April 17th is Earth Day, at Sunset Hill Farm 8am-3pm. Master Gardeners and Purdue Extension will have booths set up with activities and information.

Mark your calendars!

Spring is on the way!

One of my favorite books is Old-Time Gardening Wisdom by America's Master Gardener, Jerry Baker. I will be referring to his book quite a bit this spring as we begin to get back outdoors and into our gardens. Right now is when everyone starts to get antsy for spring, and they go out to buy vegetable seeds, plants, lawn fertilizer etc. Well, instead, this time of year, and actually a little earlier in the year, should be used for planning. Ask yourself what your goal is this year for your garden or your lawn. Would you like to spend less at the grocery store and on your water bill? How could you do that? Will it save you money in the long run? How much time do you honestly think you can spend on your garden or your lawn? You need to think these questions through before making any big purchases. Always remember that when you are planting seeds in your garden, each of those seeds is a plant and will produce. You may lose a few plants, but most of the time you won't have too many losses. Are you going to store extra food or give it away?

Next, if you decide to go ahead with a vegetable garden, you need to plan out the location. Location is everything! It should be near the house where you will notice it (remember it), and where you can easily care for it. Make sure you are close to a water source, and as much sun as possible. There are a few plants that will do okay in part sun which include: Chard, Chicory, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Parsley, Peas, and Spinach. If you are creating your garden from scratch, now is also the time to remove all sod. You can spray it with roundup, or lay black & white newspaper over it covered with soil, or you could dig out the sod. If your ground is full of weeds, identify the weeds before you pull. Jerry notes that weeds can tell you a lot of information about what type of soil you have. If you see burdock, chicory, pigweed, purslane, dandelion, and lamb's quarters, that is a sign of Good Drainage. If you see mosses, sedges, curly dock, horsetail, may apple, or joe-pye weed, then you most likely have Poor Drainage. If you see buttercups, broad-leaved dock, dandelion, and plantain, that is a sign of Heavy Soil. Finally, if you notice sheep sorrel, wild cornflower, white campion, and yellow toadflax, then you have Light Soil, often sandy. (Baker, 1999)
http://www.jerrybaker.com

Well, that's a good start for today. If this post leads to questions that you need help with, that's what I'm here for! Please feel free to post. There is never a stupid question!

Happy Planning!

First Day!

Today marks the first time for me to write a blog. This is going to be a test to see how many people in Porter County will actually use the internet and our Purdue Extension website as a resource to get questions answered and find information on local news and events. We are here to help you! Please free up our phone lines by using our blog to post questions and find answers.