Ultimate recycling part II - that old shower curtain

I have always been a big fan of recycling - yes - even before it became cool!  Alaska has some big roadblocks to the recycle game however and there are a few things that we arent able to deal with effectively.  Our local recycle center http://www.valleyrecycling.org/   does a fantastic job and I certainly don't want you to think they are lacking.  I encourage you to visit their web site and see some of the wonderful things they are doing, but one of the things that is harder to deal with because of our location is....those old, done in shower curtains.  Plastic or fabric, they all eventually wear out and can't be cleaned well enough to look good in our showers.  But they make great landscaping fabric!  Under brick patios, or around flower beds, they keep weeds and grasses from coming up through the cracks!

These pictures show a partially completed rock garden area against the house.  I have peonys and lillies in these half rounds as well as grapes (they dont look so good right now) and clematis.

This piece of plastic happens to be an old shower curtain that  was too yukky for the bathroom, but perfect to keep the grass from growing up through the rocks.  It also makes an easy edge for the mower and helps to keep the weeding at a minimum.  I havent been able to weed this section yet as in the first round you see there are still plants that aren't up yet.  I risk great damage to them if I try to weed in there before I can see the plants.  The rocks in the black buckets are going to be moved to another area along the green house that I have done the same process and it needs more rocks on the plastic.  This is a zero cost landscaping effect as all of the items used were free or, in the case of the plastic shower curtain, a reuse from a previous purchase.

The shower curtain wasnt quite enough to do the whole area so I also used some soil and Pro-mix bags under there.  It is a thick mil plastic and should last for a long time.  You can use garbage bags as well - I know Im not the only one who sometimes pulls one out of the box and puts a hole in it before I even get to use it - but the garbage bags are a thinner mil plastic and dont last as long.  I had used garbage bags on this area before - it did last about 7 years though so not a bad result!

Voila'!  Here is the finished project - good to go for at least 7 years and easy care! 

Stay tuned for a brick patio redo and the green house entry projects that are slated for this summer using this process as well!  Happy Yardening!

Don't Plant Those Grocery Store Potatoes!

Alaska has a unique skill set when it comes to potatoes - we are very resistant to blight!  The theories on why we have such resistance are as varied and diverse as there are varieties of spud.  One of the theories is that we have developed a few types of the tuberous nightshades here locally, so they have not been exposed to the blight, and another theory holds that our farmers are so careful and when they do suspect blight they destroy the plants and all other plants within at least 100 feet of the blighted plant thus keeping it from spreading to friends and neighbors.  We also don't plant grocery store potatoes.

Lately, it seems that everyone wants to grow things, garden and go back to the basics of sustainable living.  This is a great thing!  Grow on!  One of Alaskas best selling sweatshirt designs is the "Alaska Grown" logo shirts - Alaska loves to grow!  The only problem is that we have taken Agricultural education out of our school cirriculums to the point that our every day people don't know that if you plant grocery store potatoes, you risk bringing in the blight and spreading it far and wide.  Not everyone now knows that when your plants wilt and turn black they may have blight and you need to act fast to keep it from spreading.  They also don't know that the grocery store potatoes are often 6th and 7th generation produce and they won't produce a lot of baby potatoes.  The great seed potatoes are 1st and second generation potatoes.  It is those potatoes that produce pounds of spuds per plant and keeps encouraging us to keep working hard for the golden glow of potatoe on the table!


It is very disappointing for a new gardener to spend time and effort growing potatoes and getting only a few to show for their efforts.  Chances are they wont grow those any more.  It is also a stressful event for a new gardener to know that their plants are sick and not know that it is blight or what to do about it.  Blight is what caused the Irish Potatoe Famine in 1845 causing widespread starvation in that country and forever changing the way the Irish look at food and the source of that food.  It also made other countries take notice of these things and how they work together to form a healthy food chain with healthy plants.  Lots of new research came from that incident as well as a healthy respect for diversification of the food supply chain.

A friend brought this up just today.  She thought it was wonderful that she could get so many varieties of potatoe to plant at the grocery store.  Luckily, she had two farmers in the room (including myself), to help set her straight, but it really brought home the lack of Ag education we are giving people, while expecting them to try to be self sustaining!  We need to bring back this education and make it easily available to everyone and especially to our kids.  Let them know where their food comes from and how to keep it healthy.   Now that the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Monsanto that second gen seed still falls under patent protection, it is more important than ever to keep teaching people how to grow things and save seed and protect the plants from disease!

You can get certified seed potatoe in a number of places, usually at your local greenhouse supply store, and sometimes from your local farmer as well.  Make sure you are getting certified seed potaoes.  It should specify it on the packaging.  Check with your Cooperative Extension Service or your Department of Ag as well for sources that are safe for your area.

Stay tuned for a cool ag project we are going to try at the High School where I work.  We will be planting potatoes and then the culinary arts students will be harvesting and using them next school year.  I will be posting about that as we go - stay tuned and teach people to grow!

Growing Celery - way easier than you think!

I love having fresh celery in the house.  We use it for snacks, lunches, the Guinea Pig loves it, and it gives great flavor to recipes as well.  I buy about two bunches a week in the winter.  In the summer I grow it myself outside.

In the photo below, the celery is in the black pot to the right of the concrete bench.

I had been told for a long time that celery will not thrive in Alaska and it is too much work, blah, blah, blah!  But I have Reed (my super farmer son who likes to try new things) and we decided one year to try celery.  We have never looked back and we have never bought celery in the summer again!

To grow celery, I start by seeding liberally in 4 inch pots with loose loamy soil.  Keep it damp and warm, I usually start celery indoors in about mid April.  The two types I have had the best success with are Utah Green and Utah tall.  Both types are available from many online and possible local sources.  High Mowing Seeds has the Utah Green variety and Landreth has the Tall Utah.

Once the seed comes up keep it moist.  Celery likes to have its feet wet, and will start to wilt if it gets the least bit dry.  It doesnt seem to mind cooler weather and even does well in a windy location once it is established well.  The pot above in the photo has both types of celery growing in it and it is in a location that gets a lot of water , but not necessarily full sun. 

After your 4" pots have become well established, transplant into a larger container.  I usually put 4-5 plants into a 12" pot and let them go.

Harvest as you would leaf lettuce.  I don't take up the whole plant like you buy in the grocery, I take the outside stalks for most of my uses (snacking, cooking, etc.), and I take the inner stalks for salads, and soups that call for a leafier bit of celery.  Harvest gently, or use a knife.  You risk pulling up the root if you are pulling too hard on the stalks.

If freezing weather catches you off guard as it did us last year (we had an August frost) just put the celery indoors or in the greenhouse.  It can tolerate a little cold but not continued freezing.  A light frost wont hurt it if you put it in soon after.  I didnt notice any damage and it held until well into October, which in Alaska is almost always cold.

Plant more than you think you will need - we never have enough of the stuff.  It tastes so good and it is so easy to give the kids and company for snacking.  We love to make a snack tray with celery stuffed with peanut butter or creme cheese.  Veggies and protein!  Perfect!