Take your kids to a farmers market

: As our society becomes more and more modern we find that the distance between a raw ingredient and a finished product has expanded to the point where we often haven’t a clue where anything, let alone the food we eat, originates. In taking your kids to a local farmers market you can slowly bridge that gap, reconnect with your actual community and the great people in it, show your kids visual proof that food does not start out in a box, and help the local economy. Who knew buying a tomato or pack of strawberries could be so powerful! Many kids today (and too many of their parents!) think that all food is made in factories where mass produced edible products roll off a production line, are individual wrapped, and shipped cross country to your local supermarket. Unfortunately, those kids would be almost correct. Even PB&J sandwiches, arguably one of the quickest, cheapest, and easiest things to make yourself, now come pre-made, individually wrapped and frozen! You can help educate your kids that there are still hard working people in our own backyard producing good, nutritious food for us. These folks can often be found at one of the 3100+ local growers or farmers markets in the U. S. selling their fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, and just about anything else one can grow, raise, or harvest. Markets can be a load of fun for kids as many feature baby animals, live music, jugglers, and artists who make handcrafted soaps, woodwork, breads and other baked goods. Farmers Markets are catering to the family more than ever – to make a morning out shopping for carrots and lettuce a fun family event. Bring your dog as well! Markets allow you to shop outdoors with your family's best friend in tow. Another reason to make shopping at your local farmers market a regular occurrence is the current energy situation this country and the world face. While we all love to travel we do not necessary like our food to log more miles than us. Studies show that the average family meal travels 1500 miles to reach its eventual destination. Considering energy supply and prices, that needs to be reduced and we all have the power to do so. No idea where your local market is? No problem. The good people at Food Routes and Local Harvest offer easy-to-use tools to locate and visit your local growers. Check out the links below for more info: Searchable nationwide map of farms, markets, co-ops, etc @ Local Harvest More info on why this is so important to your kids and community @ Food Routes Feel passionate about this topic and want to bring farm fresh fruits and veggies to your child’s school? Check out the Food Routes Farm to School Program Enjoy the Market! Copyright 2006 OutWithTheKids

Gardening gift

Gardening Gift Gardening has become one of the most popular hobbies, and you probably know a gardener or two that would love a gardening gift for their upcoming special occasion. There are hundreds of gardening gifts to buy for both the beginner and expert gardener, and the great thing about gardening gifts is they can be bought just about anywhere: online, nursery, feed store, farmer’s market, even your local Wal-Mart or grocery store. If buying a gardening gift for a beginner, an instructional or informational book is always a good idea. Books like this will give tips on how to eliminate gardening nightmares like disease, insects, and weeds. They will tell gardeners which kind of plants thrive in different climates, as well as how much sun, water, and nutrients various types of plants require. Books like this can be purchased at nurseries, online, or at your local bookstore. If your gardening friend is a “computer nerd”, a gardening information CD might be a better gardening gift for them than a book. Whether giving to a novice or expert professional, a plant is always a great gardening gift. Whether buying the traditional gift, like a poinsettia at Christmas, or just some random plant random, like moss, a plant is sure to be greatly appreciated and enjoyed. Another idea is to buy seeds or just a bulb for someone to transplant. Giving a perennial would be a gift that keeps on giving. Theme gardening gifts using plants can also be loads of fun. An herb can come with an attached card including a recipe using that herb. A plant that produces nectar and will attract butterflies can be coupled with a book on butterflies. Possibly the best and most common, gardening gift is gardening tools. This can be anything as simple as a hoe or rake to something more high-tech like an electric blower or vacuum. These are good for removing debris, leaves, or grass from driveways and side walks. Other favorites are gloves, hedge trimmers, and sprinklers. An excellent gardening gift that is rarely though of is a calendar. Calendar’s can serve dual purposes; it can be decorative with beautiful gardening themes, or can be used to keep up with the moon phase that affects most all plants. A farmer’s almanac is also a good idea, it is full of information regarding the weather, moon phase, when to plant, when to prune; it is the best guidebook to gardening there is. The ultimate gardening gift is for any gardener is a gift certificate to a nursery or store where gardening tools or plants are available. This way, your friend can get any tool they do not have in their collection, or any kind of plant their heart desires. Gift giving is a difficult task at best, but if you have gardeners for friends, a gardening gift is an easy way out and makes your gift buying simple. Gardening gifts can range anywhere from tools to actual plants and with gardening gifts you have a wide range of costs to choose from. You can give a cheap pair of gloves or an expensive power tiller. So the next time you go gift shopping, thing about a gardening gift for your friends with green thumbs!

Fertilizing your flowers and the importance of choosing the right flower food

When buying fertilizer for your flowers, there are two basic approaches. Either of these methods is satisfactory and the approach you take will depend upon the types of flowers you have. The first approach is to have your soil analyzed and give your flowers the precise nutrients they need as determined by the results of the analysis. Very often you can have a sample of your soil analyzed by your local county extension office for a small fee, but the most convenient method of testing is to purchase a simple soil analysis kit from your local garden center and purchase flower food based on the results. This method is very effective and will undoubtedly give you the results you hoped for, although it does take some extra time and effort. The second and most convenient manner of feeding your flowers is to choose a multi-purpose, balanced fertilizer that contains a full spectrum of plant nutrients. There are many brands of all-purpose flower food. One of the more popular brands is Miracle Gro. Most professional gardeners will attest to the effectiveness of Miracle Gro, but in most cases any brand of flower food will be just as effective if used properly. No matter the brand you choose, use the fertilizer according to the directions on the package. In the case of fertilizers, more does not translate into better. If you over-feed your plants you could cause damage to the roots or even kill the plant completely. Some flowering plants will grow excess leaves rather than flowers if given an excess of nitrogen. Select a fertilizer formulated especially for flowers to avoid this problem. Any type of bloom-booster flower food will solve this problem. Remember that when you feed your flowers, mix the fertilizer exactly as specified on the package or simply purchase ready-to-use flower food to avoid any mistakes. Also keep in mind that the flower food should not be placed directly on the leaves or flowering parts of the plant. Fertilizers are designed to feed the soil surrounding the plants. You could cause severe damage to the plants if you get the fertilizer directly on the leaves or flowers. There are some types of flower food that will not harm leaves or flowers, but make sure you read the directions carefully so that you will know the effects of getting the fertilizer directly on the leaves or flowering part of the plant.

Hydroponics a novel blessing of science

The term hydroponics stands for the technique of cultivating plants in a nutrient solution rather than in soil. It’s a novel technique of growing plants in water which contains dissolved nutrients. This technique is also known as indoor gardening, aquiculture and tank farming. Studies have proved the fact that plant roots are able to absorb the nutrients from the water even without soil. The new technique hydroponics is based on the concept that plants can be grown without any soil at all. Professor Gericke of the University of California, Davis, is considered the father of hydroponics. Professor Gericke, in 1929, proved his invention by growing tomato plants in water to a quite remarkable size. The Professor coined the name hydroponics for the culture of plants in water. Almost any plant can be made to grow through hydroponics. Today, the new techniques of hydroponics gardening and hydroponics farming are becoming popular. Benefits of Hydroponics: Hydroponics is a very useful technique when there is scarcity of land, and it is growing extremely beneficial and profitable to farmers. The positive aspects of hydroponics are listed below. Hydroponics -- • Gets rid of soil-borne diseases and weeds. • Requires no soil tilling or ploughing. • Helpful in land scarcity; plants can be placed very close to one another. • Can be done in small spaces. • Highly productive; high yield, large amount of food can be produced from small spaces. • Requires only a small amount of water compared to traditional farming. • Allows the production of quality plants under controlled environmental conditions. • Makes it possible to grow plants all year round. Future of Hydroponics: The future of hydroponics seems to be quite bright. As plants are grown indoors, they can be made to grow almost anywhere, in any condition and any weather. It’ll make it possible to grow plants in Antarctica. The techniques such as hydroponics or aeroponics may make it possible to grow vegetables and fruits in space in some near future.