Tuesday, September 8, 2015

April 2013 Newsletter

The Gardening corner:  If you have not planted your peas yet, now is the time.  This month you can also plant lettuce, radishes, broccoli, kohlrabi and later in the month, plant carrots and beets.  If you want to make your old wooden grow boxes deeper, that is an easy fix.
1)      Buy more of the same lumber as the original boxes.  Also have exterior wood screws, brackets and tie plates on hand.  Build new boxes using the wood screws and brackets.
2)       Place the new box on top of the old one. On the inside of the box use tie plates in several places to attach the new one to the old one.
3)      If you have a sprinkler in the center of the box you will need to buy a PVC riser and coupler to make it taller.  This takes less than a minute per box.  Remove old sprinkler head attachment, screw in the riser and coupler and reattach the sprinkler head.
4)      Fill your deeper box with your choice of soil.
5)      To make your boxes look better as well as last longer, use a water-proofing deck stain on the outside of your boxes in the spring when it is warm and dry and the plants are small.

My Garden Soil Recipe  This is not an exact thing.  Just what I ADD to the FREE CLAY TOPSOIL that I already had.  To each 4’x8’ box that was ½ full of top soil I added…3 bags of composted steer manure, ½-1 bag of sphagnum peat moss and several pounds of play sand.  Mix well and then plant.  Then each spring I add 2 new bags of manure.  As time goes on you can add material from your compost bin, grass clippings and even some saw dust or bagged pine shavings bought in bulk.
Dark garden soil has more organic nutrients in it and absorbs heat faster and is therefore warmer than a light colored soil.

Info-4-life/vial of life kits
These two (very similar), programs are designed to provide local safety agencies and medical response teams with pertinent and timely information during an emergency call.  This would be especially vitally important if you or an elderly parent lives alone or is unresponsive or incoherent in a medical emergency. Every home should have one of these kits. These programs would work for your family or family member no matter what part of the country they live in.  It is just a quick, easy way to access your emergency medical information.

How much does the kit cost? How do I get one?  These FREE kits are available at your local Kroger Pharmacy if you ask for one.  You can also read more about it and print your kit out for free online at www.info-4-life.org or www.vialoflife.com
If using the info-4-life program click on the “forms” button on the left-side of your computer screen and follow the directions to print out your forms.  Store the forms in a clear bag that has been taped to the fridge in a prominent place.  If you get the kit from the pharmacy, there is a magnetic pouch in the kit for this purpose.  The kit also includes a sticker for the front door AND a small card to be placed in your wallet.
The Vial of Life project is very similar and is also sponsored by Smith’s Food and Drug and the Salt Lake Valley Health Department.  Another idea to store the paper work instead of a baggie could be a water-tight container or a large pill bottle kept on the top shelf of the refrigerator on the right side.  For more information see their website.

 One of these websites allows you to store the information on-line so you can go back and update it electronically and then print out a new copy.

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