In The Garden: New Seedlings

I planted some seeds in my re-useable seedling containers about a couple of weeks ago and left them outside.  I was afraid I might have jumped the gun on planting season because I was not seeing any signs of life the first week, but on the eighth day I discovered most of my seeds have sprouted.  The Cosmos and Calendulas were the first to emerge.  Now my African Daisies, Poppies and Gysophilas have also peeked through the soil.

Going Native Garden Tour 2010

Registration for Going Native Garden Tour 2010 is open. This is a free tour of native gardens in Santa Clara Valley & Peninsula and San Francisco Bay Area. It will be held on Sunday, April 18, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Registration will close on Sun, April 18, 2010, 3:00pm or when the tour reaches capacity, whichever comes first. The tour materials will be available on Sun, April 4, 2010, 9:01pm. To register click here or visit their site at http://www.goingnativegardentour.org/.

Don't Throw Away Those Bulbs!

Last year one of my friends received a beautiful container full of beautiful, blooming tulips as a Valentine's Day gift. After the flowers died back, she innocently threw the pot away along with the tulip bulbs thinking her poor plant had died! She did not know that the tulips would bloom again the following year.

It just goes to show that you cannot take gardening information for granted. I wonder how many people accidentally threw away perfectly good plants or bulbs that have gone dormant. The next time you gift a live plant, you may want to explain what to expect to the gift recipient so she does not make the same mistake my friend did.

Organic Counts - Calculate Your Impact by Buying Organic

Organic Valley has a tool on their website that supposedly calculates how much toxins you are keeping away from earth by buying organic produce.

According to their Organic Counts tool, purchasing a gallon of Organic Valley milk per week will result in the prevention of 9.5 lbs of synthetic nitrogen and 2.1 oz of herbicides & pesticides from being used! The tool also offers links to learn more about synthetic nitrogen, herbicides and pesticides and their impact on Earth and our health. It's a fun tool to use and definitely worth checking out.

Organic Rising Sweepstakes

Enter Organic Valley's Organic Rising Sweepstakes for a chance to win:

• A year of free organic produce;
• Healthy Lifestyle Magazine subscriptions; or
• Grand Prize of Trek Bicycle

Contest ends March 31, 2010.

You must be at least 13 years of age. For more information on contest rules, click here.

Local Harvest

Do you crave fresh, organic produce, but lack the time or space to create your own garden? Visit Local Harvest's website at http://www.localharvest.org/. This website is a public nationwide directory of small farms, farmer markets, and other local food sources. You can find CSA farms that will either deliver food to you or make produce available for pickup at regular intervals. You can also shop at their store for fresh produce, meats, heirloom seeds, flowers, syrups, preserves and more.

Neat Honey Bee Facts

Did you know crops such as apples, cherries and avocados are 90% dependent on honey bee pollination or that the most expensive honey is believed to be the Tregothnan manuka honey from Britain and estimated to cost about 5 GBP (or $7.83) per teaspoon? You can learn more neat honey bee facts by reading the Fast Company's article, "A Taste of the Honey Bees" by Anne C. Lee.

Free Vegetable Garden Course by Utah State University

Utah State University Extension offers a free vegetable gardening online course. The course consists of a series of online videos that explains how best to take care of your vegetable garden.

Topics Covered:

• Soil Preparation
• The Vegetable Garden
• Turf Grass & Water Use
• Q&A's

To find more free courses on a various subjects, visit Open Courseware Consortium.

Green Apps

There was an article in CNN that featured “Green” iPhone Apps. It is pretty neat.

Get Green ($0.99): Provides you daily “green” tips.

A Real Tree ($0.99): Promises to plant a real tree when you buy this virtual tree app.

Find Green (Free): Allows you to search for environmentally friendly businesses in your area. You can also visit gengreenlife.com to search for environmentally friendly businesses in your area.

To read more about each app, including a list of pros and cons, click here or visit the links above.