September Gardening Zone 6

It is nearly mid-September!  I am in the middle of the Fall harvest and canning vegetables from the garden and the peaches are done.  Most of us just think about harvesting and don't give much thought to planting.  If you want to have a Fall crop of cool weather vegetables, now is the time to plant some lettuce, spinach, kale and radishes in any empty places in your garden.  I should have planted mine about 3 weeks ago, but I kept forgetting.  In late Fall, if your cool weather crops are threatened by frost, you can cover them at night and uncover each morning.
  Frost will not harm your carrots or beets.

  Fall is the best time of year to plant new trees or shrubs.  They will have a lot less transplant shock because of the cooler temperatures.  Keep them well watered through the Fall.

  It is also a great time of year to create and fill any raised bed planters.  This is a perfect time to take advantage of cooler temperatures to work outside.  You can get everything built and filled and you will be ready to plant as soon as the soil thaws in early Spring.

Soil amendments or additives that are good for your garden and are very affordable:  wood ashes from a fire place or fire pit, play sand, manure from chickens, cows, horses, rabbits or guinea pigs, wood shavings, or saw dust, shredded newspaper,  vegetable peels, grass clippings, peat moss, and old potting soil.

March 2013 Newsletter

Words of advice:  The time to install a new garden system or build grow boxes and to learn new skills of self-sufficiency is not AFTER you have lost your job or might have to sell your home but BEFORE.  While times are good and you are doing ok you should be learning new skills and investing in equipment. A pressure canner costs at least $60.  A water bath or steam canner costs about $30. Getting started costs money and you should use the good times to be getting things in place and building up your skills and food storage so when times get harder and more stressful, you already have a back-up system.

The gardening corner:  In northern Utah you can plant peas around St. Patrick’s Day.  In March you can also start planting tomatoes and other warm weather crops in tiny pots from seed.  Keep them indoors!   Warm weather crops cannot go outside until at least Mother’s Day.

This month’s area of focus:  Communication

The Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center is now accepting cell phone numbers and email addresses into their notification system.  This is sometimes called reverse 9-1-1.  For now, if you have a land line that number is already in the system.  But if you do not have a land line anymore or you want to also be notified on your cell phone, you will need to register your number(s) with them.  This is a quick and easy process on their website www.vecc9-1-1.com

If you register your numbers they WILL NOT ever email or solicit you!  This is only in the case of an emergency or disaster that would affect the ADDRESS of where that phone is registered.  This system was used in Utah several times last year when there were several fires that forced thousands of people to be evacuated.  If you had your phone registered, and your neighborhood was being evacuated, your cell would be called and you would find out.  You create your own account on their website and you can go in at any time and change anything that you need to.  Please note; for those of you who do not live in the Salt Lake Valley, south of Salt Lake City, your area may have their own similar system. Salt Lake City proper is NOT included in this system.   Utah County also has their own.

You have decided that you want to do this.  Here are the steps:

1)      Go to www.vecc9-1-1.com  Click the menu item VOIP registration (top of screen)

2)      Click NEW USER link at the bottom of the screen.  Fill in the blank fields and click ADD.  Log-in using the information you just entered and click LOG-IN.

3)      Click ADD ADDRESS.  Be sure to follow the directions given on the page!

4)      Do not put any dashes in your phone number.

5)      Select either VOIP or MOBIL in the drop down box.

6)      Check the box that you agree to have this entered into the DCC database.  Then click ADD.

7)      Check your information and then if satisfied, click LOG OUT.  Be sure to keep your information and password!