By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

The first day of spring provided me with the perfect weather for one of my favorite eco-friendly activities.

After a long, cold winter I like any excuse to celebrate Mother Earth and encourage others to do the same.

So on the first warm day I get all my supplies together to start my celebration that I spread across the country.

One may ask what such a project could be and I would surprise you with one simple answer that is a plantable letters or cards.

These letters or cards are made from all the junk/scrape paper that I have kept over the winter and seeds that I have saved from my garden or purchased from a local discount store. These handmade letters or cards are mailed to my friends across the country with updates about my life and reminding them to celebrate April 22 (Earth Day) by planting their letters or cards.

Planting these letters or cards can spread seeds of hope and truly can prove that 1 person can make a difference in this world even if it is one plantable letter or card at a time. So with the directions below spread your own seeds of hope.

Handmade Paper

Supplies

• Blender
• Flat pan Read the rest of this entry »
  
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By Vanessa Richins

Many gardeners choose to store garden seeds–especially from vegetables–at the end of the growing season, but the seeds will not last forever.

The natural shelf life of garden seeds depends on the kind of plant.

Store seeds in a cool, dry location so they will last longer than their natural shelf life.

They can be placed in a sealed jar in the refrigerator with a moisture absorbent like rice, silica packets or powdered milk.

One Year

Seeds that can be stored successfully for one year include parsnips, spinach and sweet corn. Annual flower seeds can last from one to three years.

Two Years

Beans, beets, Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Many gardening companies are jumping on the bandwagon of urban gardening.

They offer support and products to help individuals and groups improve their neighborhoods.

Nature Hills Nursery is no exception.

Their website proclaims “Our goal is to help communities reclaim land, turning eyesores into oases. We want to help dedicated individuals, groups and organizations make their local communities better Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Every year the All American Selection committee announces the newest winners in its testing programs.

Their mission? “To promote new garden seed varieties with superior garden performance judged in impartial trials in North America.”

They test new varieties that have not been available for sale yet, then choose the most promising ones as winners.

This year, there were 4 winners announced:

- Viola F1 ‘Rain Blue and Purple’ (Viola cornuta) was named as the 2009 Cool Season Bedding Plant Award Winner. This viola was bred Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

As the gardening season slowly draws to a close, there are still many opportunities for urban gardening fun.

One of these could be a Seed Exchange Party!

Perhaps you had a bumper crop of your favorite heirloom bean. Sue, who also lives in your town, may have extra tomato seeds. Joe has squash seeds.

If everyone brought their seeds to a party, everyone could end up with three different kinds of seeds for next year instead of just one.

First, you would need to save some seeds. Methods differ for every plant, but for most, let the fruit sit on the stem until it is fully mature or dried out. You should be able to remove the seeds and save them for future use. Be sure to Read the rest of this entry »