Edible Gardens / Herbs

Saturday 03/16/2013 (March 16th) 11:00 a.m. at Legacy Gardens

Composting – The Basics

Saturday 03/23/2013 (March 23rd) 11:00 a.m. at Legacy Gardens

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Basic Landscape (learn what to put & where to put it)

Saturday 04/06/2013 (April 6th) 11:00 a.m. at Legacy Gardens

Orchids & Bromeliads

Saturday 04/20/2013 (April 20th) 11:00 a.m. at Legacy Gardens

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Roses & Gardenias – How to grow them in Sunny South Florida

Saturday 05/04/2013 (May 4th) 11:00 a.m. at Legacy Gardens

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• Hose with care. Use a hose with an on/off nozzle. One unattended hose can pour out 600 gallons of water an hour. Twenty unattended hoses can spew out enough water in an hour to fill a small swimming pool.

• Don’t fertilize your grass until the rainy season begins. A fertilized lawn grows more vigorously, which requires more water. When you do fertilize, use a slow-release, water insoluble fertilizer that isn’t washed away in rain or irrigation.

• Get rid of — or shrink — your lawn. The typical lawn requires 3,000 gallons of water per month. If just 25 people got rid of their lawns, it would save 75,000 gallons — enough water for the daily needs of 1,086 people.

• Mulch it. Mulch that’s two-to-three inches thick greatly reduces plants’ water requirements. (But don’t use cypress mulch, often harvested from wetlands.)

• Plant native plants.After they’re established, many require no supplemental irrigation. Replacing one water-hogging plant with a drought-tolerant one can save 550 gallons of water a year.

• Don’t assume that wilting plants always need water. Many plants undergo natural “incipient wilting” in the middle of a hot, sunny day (much like us), but perk up in the late afternoon (also like us.)

• Make a clean sweep. It takes about 80 gallons to clean a patio with a hose. Instead, use a broom and get some exercise at the same time.

• Redirect rain water from gutters into a rain barrel, typically a 55 gallon plastic container which looks like a garbage can with a spigot for a hose. Even simpler, redirect gutters to spill water away from paved areas to where its needed, on flower beds, trees and shrubs.

• Dig a rain “sink” or swale area. Use earth berms to redirect rainwater runoff from driveways and patios to this low area where it can collect and seep into the ground instead of being sent to storm water drains in the street.

• Encourage soaking. The rain that falls onto your yard should soak into your yard, not run off into the street. Use bricks, pavers, gravel or grass for patios and driveways, which allow rainwater to seep into the ground.

• Avoid fertilizers that contain weed killer or insecticide. Instead, diagnose the problem and apply a targeted product, or simply pull weeds by hand.

• Learn to tolerate some chewed leaves. Spraying for every bug means you kill the beneficial natural controls as well, such as ladybugs.

• Ditch the heavy-duty killing sprays in favor of insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils and products containing Bt, a bacterium that deflects chewing insects.

• For a green lawn, try applying iron sulfate or chelated iron before using a full-spectrum fertilizer. Iron may be all that is required to green-up your grass.

• Get free fertilizer by leaving grass clippings on the lawn. Each bag of grass clippings, throws away quarter pound of organic nitrogen, a necessary nutrient for healthy plants.

• Try using half your usual amount of fertilizer. Many plants will respond fine and you’ll be reducing the amount that runs off into streams and the ocean.

• Compost it. Improve your soil with compost by making your own compost bin. Construct a 3-foot bin out of untreated wood or concrete blocks. Add layers of grass, leaves, shredded branches, wood chips and vegetative kitchen waste (no meat.) Keep pile moist. After 3 to 4 weeks, mix pile thoroughly and every week afterward. Compost will be ready to use when plants are decomposed, in two to 12 months.

• Create shade. Plant trees that will grow to less than 30 feet tall to cool outdoor patios and driveways. Rooms with shaded windows require less air-conditioning.