BULK

Here is the Plan!

BULK is a small healthy locally owned grocery store which will serve West Oakland families. BULK will provide access to fresh fruit and vegetables, quality meats (fresh and frozen), bulk staples (oats, flour, chocolate, etc.), spices (salt, cumin, turmeric, etc.) and dairy products (Milk, cheese, butter, etc). Additionally, we will promote locally produced healthy products and provide job training for locals. We will not sell alcohol or cigarettes. We are hoping to start in the next year.

in reference to: SCORE Community - Company - BULK! (view on Google Sidewiki)

Organic gardening: Seed-saving

Seed-saving is an ancient skill that every gardener should learn

One way to ensure a good supply of plants is to save seed from your own garden.

A primary aim of the organic gardener should be to become less dependent on outside sources (by making your own compost and raising your own plants, for example). So passing over seed catalogues and the luxury of their foil-packed products in favour of "home-grown'' is a move in the right direction.

This follows the tradition of thousands of years: gardeners and farmers have always saved and sown their own seed. And now that varieties of vegetables and flowers are disappearing at a terrifying rate, we need to learn seed-saving skills as never before.

I have spent many hours poring over yellowing newspaper on the kitchen table, separating lettuce seed from chaff, tiny beetles and other detritus. It is highly satisfying and great fun. You can supply yourself and the rest of the neighbourhood for years to come.

What's more, you know precisely what is going back into your garden and you also have the comfort of knowing it will grow because that's where it came from in the first place.

As a rule of thumb, the larger the seed the easier it is to save. It is also easier to see whether it has been damaged by mildew or rot. Usually, the sooner you sow a seed, the higher the chance that it will germinate and flourish.

In the vegetable garden, among the easiest for the novice seed-saver are peas and beans. The key to success with these is to leave the seed pods to dry naturally on the plant for as long as possible until the pods are papery and bone-dry.

Runner beans, French beans, flowering sweet peas and any sort of edible pea (though you should be wary of the pea moth, which makes itself known in the form of a tiny caterpillar and a pinprick hole in the seed) are very easy to save.

Once they have been de-podded, leave the seeds to dry in a warm, airy space (direct sunlight is fine) until they are truly dry, then pack them away in Kilner jars, tins or anything that can be properly sealed.

Potatoes are also an excellent choice with which to start. Be on your guard, however, as this year was bedevilled by potato blight which over-winters well in stored seed potatoes.

If it is not detected, it will unleash its full force on the crop next year when conditions are favourable. Check tubers regularly for wet, slimy patches and throw out any that are suspect.

Simply keep back a few tubers that are roughly the size of a hen's egg from each plant. Store them in a cool but frost-free place, laid out in a tray and out of the reach of rodents. They will soon start to sprout and will be ready to plant in spring, however long the shoots and shrivelled the tuber.

The question of cross-pollination sometimes arises when you have different varieties of the same genus in close proximity, so you must be aware that there is always the chance that you might accidentally breed something startling.

Give it a try - lettuce cross- pollinates easily - and there is something compelling about seeing one in full flower. Where once there was a bolted, wasted plant, there is now a tower of horizontal branches packed with flowers and then little tufts of seeds.

This is good for the seed-eating finches that will flock to your garden when they discover your new enterprise, and good for the bio-diversity of your organic garden.

From The Telegraph

The sunflowers are positively blooming!

Goji berries: The new superfruit

Move over blueberries and broccoli: the new superfood on the plot is the goji berry. Diana McAdam introduces the Chinese wonder shrub you can grow at home.

Britain's love affair with growing fruit and veg has hit new heights, thanks to the campaigning work of green gardeners and foodies, and increased awareness that what we eat affects the way we look and feel. Berry healthy: Goji berries are the latest superfood It is now widely understood that fresh fruit and vegetables contain the vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants that are vital components of a healthy diet. The number of gardeners growing superfoods - such as blueberries, broccoli, spinach and tomatoes - has also risen dramatically. New on the plot are goji berries, which are arguably the most super of the superfoods and surprisingly easy to cultivate at home. Dieticians tend to avoid the term "superfood" and prefer to talk about a super diet, where the emphasis is on a balanced regime rich in a wide variety of fruit - especially berries - and veg. But they do not dispute that some foods - such as the fruit of Lycium barbarum, known as goji berries - pack a harder than average nutritional punch. This fruit, which is about 2cm (1in) in diameter with a mild, sweet liquorice flavour, has recently been rated No 1 on the ORAC scale (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) by the US Department of Agriculture. The scale was developed to measure the antioxidant level in foods and, the higher the score, the more capable that food is of destroying the free radicals that cause cancer and speed up the aging process.

Goji berries scored a spectacular 25,300 per 100g, while prunes, which came second, had a mere 5,770 per 100g. According to Gillian McKeith, the presenter of Channel 4's You Are What You Eat, they have 2,000 more antioxidants and 500 times the amount of vitamin C per weight as oranges.

They also contain beta-carotene (their ability to improve vision has been documented for more than 1,500 years in China), vitamins B1 and B2, minerals and amino acids. Goji berries and lycium bark play important roles in traditional Chinese medicine and are believed, among other things, to strengthen the immune system, help eyesight, protect the liver, boost the sperm count and improve circulation.

Another traditional property of goji fruit is their ability to benefit the complexion and it is also claimed that they enhance longevity (a Chinaman, Li Quing Yuen, who ate them every day, is said to have lived to the age of 250).

Most of the goji berries that are sold in this country are cultivated in China, but they also grow in Mongolia and on vines in the sheltered Himalayan valleys of Tibet and Nepal, where they have been eaten for centuries and are nicknamed "happy berries" because of the sense of wellbeing they are said to induce.

They can be dried (most that you buy in this country are dried), eaten raw or brewed into a tea. So although they are new to many of us, Chinese supermarkets have been importing goji berries to this country since the 1970s. The young shoots and leaves of the lycium bush are also grown commercially in China and can be used as a flavouring or lightly cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The flavour is said to be cress-like but has also been described as pepperminty.

However, what is perhaps most surprising about this wonder shrub is that, according to William Aiton's Hortus Kewensis, published in 1789 (Aiton was director of Kew from 1759 until his death in 1793), Lycium barbarum was being grown as an ornamental plant in the Royal Gardens of St James's Palace in 1696.

The Victorians were also very fond of the berries. There is a reference from 1830 to goji berries being tied as beads around the necks of teething children - although they would have known the plant by a different name. Goji is a relatively recent invention, based on the Chinese Gou Qi Zi. Other names for it include Chinese wolfberry, matrimony vine, Chinese boxthorn, red medlar, vicar's tea party and the Duke of Argyll's tea tree.

Stephen Shirley, the owner of Victoriana Nursery Gardens, began cultivating goji plants last year. "They are extremely hardy and can grow to 10ft tall. I hadn't heard that the Victorians loved and grew them - or not for their fruit, anyway - but it would not surprise me if they were used as a topiary plant.

Rapid in growth and resilient to hard pruning, they are ideal for topiary." As Stephen suggests, L. barbarum can be grown as an informal hedge, and will even thrive by the sea. It has an extensive root system, so can be used to stabilise sandy banks. Tolerant of pruning, it can regrow from old wood, but any trimming is best carried out in spring.

So, far from being exotic and temperamental, these wonder plants are tough, easy-growing and self-fertile, and will thrive in practically any soil type and at any temperature. Why not grow your own?

A single plant will produce more than 2lb (1kg) of berries in its second year. You could save a fortune and perhaps live to be 250.

From The Telegraph

Garden advice: Thorny problems

Those rampant rabbits

A plea for help from Somerset gardener Gaynor Tunbridge, who has alerted me to the fact that it is Rabbit Time again. As an "inner village" gardener I no longer have to fight the depressing fight against the nasty nibblers as I once did, but those poor souls that do have my sympathy.

	Forgotten corner: Ivy is appealing in the right place

Gaynor is opening her garden for the National Garden Scheme later this spring to coincide with hellebore time and, for the first time ever, something - presumed by me to be a rabbit, despite the fact that they are not supposed to like hellebores - is demolishing the new juicy shoots as they appear.

And emailer Frank O'Mahony asks how he can protect his plants from rabbits that last year demolished, by his estimate, 75 per cent of his garden.

In very early spring, before the grass gets going, rabbits will have a go at almost anything, even plants they are not supposed to like, and physical barriers may be the only way to deal with the problem.

The only really successful, long-term solution to a rabbit infestation such as Frank's - a more-or-less permanent onslaught, by the sound of things - is to fence and gate off the whole area.

Fences can be made of chicken wire and, unless your local rabbits can jump (some do), need be no more than 1m/3ft high, with 30cm/1ft or so of wire buried horizontally under the ground on the outer side so that rabbits are put off trying to burrow underneath it.

The fences need not be unsightly if they can be disguised in boundary hedges. Obviously, the system only works if you make sure that the rabbits have been excluded from the site first and the gates are closed religiously each time.

This soon becomes second nature, and I managed seven rabbit-free years, living virtually under siege in the "smart" part of my garden, while allowing the rabbits free rein to tap-dance at will in the wilder parts. Trying to have decent borders or vegetables without the fences would have been pointless, and the one-off expense was certainly, in my view, worth every penny.

On a smaller scale, where a single rabbit may have wandered into the garden, possibly temporarily (as may be Gaynor's problem) you can protect individual herbaceous plants with bamboo cloches (from Harrod Horticultural: 0845 218 5301; www.harrodhorticultural.com) or chicken-wire "hats". I made fairly neat ones by using my salad spinner or a bucket as a mould for the wire.

Once shrubs are tall and woody enough, they can cope with having their lower shoots "pruned" by rabbits every year, but while they are small their bases should be protected with simple, sturdy, small-gauge chicken-wire cylinders. A rabbit trap might also be useful, or, dare I say it, a powerful air-gun, a good aim and a great deal of patience.

Are there plants that rabbits won't eat? In theory yes, and the RHS (www.rhs.org.uk) provides a helpful list of plants that are unpalatable to (or at least less-loved by) rabbits. I am reliably informed that, in my local rabbit-infested graveyard, the only plant that survives apart from grass is London pride (Saxifraga umbrosa).

In my experience, rabbits will have an experimental - and quite devastating - go at more or less anything if they are hungry enough. So let's keep our fingers crossed for Gaynor's hellebores.

Plantains on the lawn

I have plantains creeping into my lawn. What shall I do to get rid of them? The Roundup pack says that if you use it on the lawn you will lose the grass as well. Jill Kelbrick, Pickering

You are right about Roundup - and any other weedkiller containing glyphosate. Although it does not linger in the soil once it has done its job, it will kill grass and any other greenery that is inadvertently touched or sprayed with it.

However, unlike creeping buttercup, another pernicious lawn weed which really does "creep" via its runners, particularly in shady, damp lawns, plantains invade lawns by spreading their seed around. Their seedlings survive to maturity because their flat rosettes of leaves are left untouched by mower blades.

There are selective weedkillers that will kill the plantains without damaging the grass, but if the invasion is limited you could simply winkle them out individually with a pronged weeder or an old kitchen fork, or paint the large, flat leaves with Roundup mixed with a little wallpaper paste to make it stick.

From The Telegraph

Pioneer Releases 59 New Hybrids for 2008 Planting

Twenty-three new genetic platforms introduced

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, announces the release of 59 new Pioneer® brand corn hybrids, available to growers across North America for the 2008 planting season. This includes 23 new genetic families matched with technology from the Herculex® family of insect protection traits and the Roundup Ready® Corn 2 trait.

This class consists of 15 Pioneer double-stack hybrids containing the Herculex I gene and the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait, offering more technology options for growers to meet individual field needs.

This class also contains 22 new triple stack hybrids offering Herculex XTRA insect protection and the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait, making 40 triple stack products in all available within the Pioneer line-up for growers for 2008 planting. Herculex XTRA offers a combination of the Herculex I trait and Herculex RW rootworm protection gene to guard against a broader range of above- and below-ground insects in corn than any other product on the market.

The Herculex I gene protects the corn plant against European and southwestern corn borer, western bean cutworm, black cutworm, fall armyworm, corn earworm, sugarcane borer, southern cornstalk borer and lesser cornstalk borer, while the Herculex RW trait protects against western, northern and Mexican corn rootworms.

Based on university and Pioneer Agronomy Sciences trials in 2007, Pioneer hybrids with Herculex traits had consistently higher yields and were more effective against root damage than hybrids with YieldGard® traits developed by Monsanto.

"The maturity for these new hybrids range from 75, or very early, to 118 CRM" says Bob Heimbaugh, North American director of corn product management for Pioneer. "We are excited about the wide range of technology stacks in North America which offers superior insect protection for our new elite genetic platforms"

To meet rising end-use market demands, Pioneer is leading with technologies for white and waxy hybrids. White corn is used primarily in products for human consumption and waxy is used for syrups, ethanol and other specialty starch products.

Last year, Pioneer introduced a stack of the Herculex I and Roundup Ready traits in waxy corn. Pioneer is the first to offer three new white Herculex trait-protected hybrids to the marketplace.

"Pioneer continues to lead end-use markets for white and waxy by working with processors to utilize technology traits" says Heimbaugh. "Processors want good test weight and kernel integrity, and minimal disease and insect damage - with these new technologies growers can produce high-quality grain that meets processor expectations"

Pioneer continues to improve genetic gain and technology options for growers.

"Pioneer is focusing on matching hybrids to a producer’s operation on a field-by-field basis" says Heimbaugh. "From an industry perspective, we want to provide a package of platforms with technology options so growers are getting the best genetics for their operation and growing area"

For more information about these new hybrids and technologies, contact your local Pioneer sales professional.

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is the world’s leading source of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers and grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant genetics in nearly 70 countries.

DuPont Leaving Pioneer.com is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.

From WEBWIRE

English wine producers welcome EU planting ban exemption

English and Welsh wine producers have welcomed the decision by the EU that its extension to the vineyard planting ban will not apply to the UK, writes Mike Dennis.

This planting restriction had been seen as the “greatest challenge to the continued development of the wine industry in the UK”,.

Under this EU planting ban, UK wine producers would have had to stop any further planting once production exceeded 3.3million bottles (25,000 hectolitres), averaged over five years.

Although the EU Commission wanted to get rid of the planting restrictions, they were forced to compromise and extend the ban to 2015, in order to get other reforms through, which are designed to make EU production more competitive.

The planting ban was introduced in the EU in 1999 in response to the over production of poor quality wine in the larger member state producing countries, which resulted in the EU ‘wine lake’.

The current EU wine reform, introduced by EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, aims to revive the European wine industry. The UK Vineyards Association (UKVA) argued UK producers have been steadily producing more and more quality wine, especially within the sparkling wine sector, and demand from both domestic and overseas markets has never been higher.

Mike Roberts, of RidgeView Wine Estate,said: “Our recent and current rate of planting will yield a production of over four million bottles by 2012 – an increase of over 100% of our present production. Further expansion is planned for this and the next years and we foresee our production may well double again.

“The UK is producing and building a demand for what is now recognised as world-class and competitive wines, without any subsidy or market assistance from the EU,” he said. “We have fulfilled the prime objective of the EU Commission’s wine reform – to have European countries produce what the consumer wants. The EU has acknowledged our efforts by exempting us from the planting ban.”

From Talking Retail.com

January Garden Guide: Plant a tree

Try planting trees this month. Lower temperatures give roots time to establish before the unforgiving late-spring and summer heat.

Natives such as mesquite, paloverde and desert willow provide food, cover and nesting sites for native wildlife, as well as shade and beauty for the rest of us. Look for different varieties, such as screw bean mesquite or foothills paloverde, at the plant nursery.

Larger plants may cost more, but generally hold up better against frost and pets.
Consider planting a citrus tree. Equate the size of the potted tree to the size of hole you'll have to dig.

Edibles

• Prepare garden soil for spring planting. If you're up to the challenge, germinate seeds of tomatoes, peppers and basil in containers so they're ready to plant in the ground by Valentine's Day.


• Plant seeds of salad ingredients, such as carrots, lettuce, green onions, peas, radishes and spinach.


• Plant transplants of artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and chard.


• To save culinary herbs, such as thyme, oregano, etc., harvest them fresh, rinse them off, chop them up finely, put them in ice trays, add water and slip them into the freezer. Later, when you need to add zip to a stew or baked dish, toss in a few herb cubes.


• Transplant bare-root deciduous fruit trees. Select varieties that require fewer than 400 hours of chilling.


• Give citrus the taste test. If fruit is not sweet enough for your liking, leave remaining fruit on the tree for several more weeks. Peel color is not an indicator of maturity or taste in citrus.

For a schedule of vegetable planting dates for Maricopa County, go to ag.arizona.edu/ maricopa/garden/html/pubs/ pubs.htm#Vegetable.

Ornamentals

Bare-root roses are available at nurseries, but don't neglect the bushes in your landscape.


• Pruning, removing all of the leaves, old canes, dead canes and spindly canes smaller than the diameter of a pencil, coaxes the best out of roses for spring bloom in April.


• Attend rose-pruning demonstrations by Valley rose societies, nurseries and garden shops.


• Plant seeds of hollyhocks and transplants of annuals found at nurseries and garden shops.

For a planting guide for Maricopa County, go to ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/gar den/html/pubs/pubs.htm #Flowers.

Maintenance

• To keep winter lawns green and healthy, fertilize every three weeks with ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate or calcium nitrate. Follow application rates and directions on the container's label.


• Cover frost-tender plants, such as bougainvillea, celosia, ficus, hibiscus, Mexican fan palm, red bird of paradise and sweet acacia when night temperatures drop below 35 degrees.


• Bring container plants closer to the house for protection or cover with a sheet or frost cloth.


• Cover lemon, lime and young citrus trees, which are sensitive to lower temperatures, overnight with a sheet or blanket that reaches to the ground. Uncover after sunrise.


• Use cardboard boxes, foam or plastic cups to protect the tips of columnar cactus or bloom stalks on agaves and aloes.


• Do not prune the damaged areas until the plant begins spring growth. Pruning may stimulate new frost-sensitive growth.

Watering

• Adjust your watering schedule. Shrubs, trees and flower beds need water less frequently during shorter, cooler days.


• Growing flowers may require watering once or twice per week, depending on the weather.

From The Arizona Republic

Top indoor plants for winter

Sarah Raven's two-part special on top indoor plants. This week: best for winter colour

Garden gift ideas Gardeners' Forum With this last bout of soggy rain, then freezing weather and bitter east winds, even the hardy chrysanthemums have perished. I've found only a scrappy nerine and some pots of Burgundy verbenas still in flower. Everything else is black, brown or grey. Bowls of plenty: Polyanthus are good for body and soul It's time to move on to plants that will survive or even thrive inside. You often see the reliable moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) on window ledges, and at this time of year there is a rash of poinsettias, but a wider selection of houseplants these days is rare. They are deeply out of fashion. Yet there are plants well worth growing inside, and they have 10 times the shelf life of a bunch of cut flowers. The ideal houseplant will grow happily in the warmer temperatures, drier atmosphere and lower light levels inside. It's even better if they survive with an occasional watering, once or twice a week, and minimal TLC. On the aesthetic front, it's not so much about which plant to have inside, but how you display it. One way to get an ordinary pot plant looking fabulous is to go for really rich, strong wintry colours. Polyanthus I love having certain colours of polyanthus inside in the winter. Most garden centres and farm shops have a good selection, and they are easy to grow. You are meant to plant them out as winter bedding, but I bring them all inside and get at least a month of continual flower from them; and all for only about £1 each. Polyanthus like high humidity, so take a coloured glass container and cover the base with a bed of pebbles in water. Then plonk your pot, or collection of pots inside, with a little room for easy watering around the outside. If you can see any plastic from the pots, grab a fistful of dried leaves, mound these up and around to hide the ugly plastic. Gather several pots together but keep each colour in a separate container - don't mix them up like dolly mixtures. Avoid spring yellow, choosing purple, coral-orange, magenta or red instead. Your collection should be backlit to highlight the containers as well as the flowers. Polyanthus need bright but indirect light - a sunny, south-facing window ledge with a daytime temperature of 13C-21C (55F-70F) is ideal. Mist-spray the leaves to maintain humidity and water thoroughly and frequently, but allow the compost to dry out in between. If not kept moist, polyanthus have a tendency to collapse completely. If this happens, plunge the plant into a sink of water for an hour and let it drain well. It will resurrect miraculously and there will be no sign of damage from its drought. Cyclamen I find cyclamen a little trickier to grow than polyanthus as their leaves turn yellow more easily, but I still manage to keep them alive. I always choose the small-flowered varieties (almost always hybrids) in white, crimson or magenta, in preference to the large-flowered, large-leaved forms. They like bright, indirect light, so an east-facing windowsill is ideal, but they don't like it too hot, preferring a daytime temp of 15C-18C (60F-65F), dropping to 10C (50F) at night. In my kitchen (which has an Aga) they struggle, yet in our chilly, dark bedroom, they do fine. Don't put them near a radiator and always water from the bottom, although don't allow the plant to sit in a swimming saucer. How to arrange Combine a few sprigs of whatever you can find in the garden - sage or rosemary will do - with as many pots of polyanthus and cyclamen as will fit. Use different-coloured glass vases for your arrangements and encase every pot in a container of the same colour. The low sun will produce brilliant shafts of light that radiate into the room. Keep dead-heading each plant, and plant out in the garden when finished. From The Telegraph.

Keep fit in the garden

Forget gym membership...get gardening instead, writes Bunny Guinness

Health homepage Organic Gardening homepage Rather than spiral into despair as you peer over your paunch at the scales in the New Year, look to the garden instead. I think this is the best way to get into shape and I often wonder how many gym subscriptions are paid up then left unused as those good intentions wane. Many of us know what the downsides of the gym are, but how many realise the up sides of the garden? Warming up: Bunny begins her workout with some press-ups How many calories do you use when you garden? For the calorie-obsessed among us, it is fascinating to flick through a table of all the different gardening activities. Some of the meatier tasks, such as shovelling or mowing the lawn for an hour with a hand mower, will burn around 400 calories. If you jog for four miles you will burn about the same amount. The point is that while it is an effort to drag yourself to the gym for three sessions a week, nipping into the garden is far more appealing. Even on days when you just pick a few beans, water some plants or open the greenhouse door, you will be putting your body through a useful range of movements involving resistance and stretching exercises, even if you don't realise that you are doing so. Clyde Williams, professor of sports science at Loughborough University, estimates that an hour of heavy work in a gym, perhaps running on a treadmill for 20 minutes, riding an exercise bike and doing several sets of weights would expend around 600-700 calories. If on the other hand you spent three hours in the garden, doing a range of jobs such as raking, digging, chopping logs and weeding, you would easily use the same amount, if not more. The benefit in terms of weight loss is that gardening involves prolonged energy expenditure (as opposed to a shorter burst of intense aerobic activity) so you will tend to burn more fat as opposed to carbohydrates, which is more effective when trying to lose weight. What great exercise can you do in the garden now? At this more dormant time I like to indulge myself and do regular garden "workouts" so I am fighting fit for when the rush comes in spring. Too many gardeners tend to hibernate now, and then are surprised when they strain themselves in a spring panic. For the past couple of years I have been working with Jackie Knox, a physiotherapist and pilates teacher, on a book for gardeners. It all started when I was designing her garden and she told me that in the spring the proportion of her patients with garden related injuries reaches one in 20. This is because we get carried away, underestimate how strenuous the work is, do it when we aren't fit and for long spells, far longer than we would be encouraged to in a gym. (We also do it incorrectly, but more of that next week). My post-turkey workout includes turning the compost heap, barrowing compost, chopping logs, planting trees and spreading thick piles of mulch around them. I will intersperse these more aerobic activities with gentler tasks such as tidying the greenhouse, seed sowing and weeding the yard. It is vital to warm up before gardening. For this, I might take a brisk stroll round the garden to check on plants and see what needs doing, and weave in some step-ups, bench press-ups and a few lunges as I go. After gardening I will do a few all-important stretches, geared to keep my body supple and to ward off post-gardening stiffness. The regular stretching lets your body achieve a wider range of movement and ensures that you do not stiffen up afterwards. Now and then I will go for a quick bounce on the trampoline, guaranteed to make me sweat and blow out the odd hangover. Each week I try to attend a pilates class with Robbie Philp at The Pilates Studio in Peterborough and carry out a few minutes of gardening-geared pilates most days. Pilates focuses on your core muscles and gets you in the habit of gardening to strengthen your body rather than strain it. Any short cuts to make gardening easier? Certain time-saving machines need to be thought about carefully before purchase. For example, if you have less than half an acre of grass, a ride-on mower will not save you any time compared to a walk-behind mower. You will only be using 140 calories an hour compared to just under double that amount. The machine will cost you a lot more initially and servicing and fuel costs are significantly higher too. Some devices that save you bending are not always beneficial either. One of the great things about gardening is that it makes you move your body through a range of positions, kneeling, squatting, stretching and so forth, which keeps your joints mobile. How much gardening should I aim to do to keep fit? The American Surgeon General's report says 30 minutes of aerobic activity is required each week. But Prof Clyde Williams says this is pitched too low. He recommends buying a step counter and aiming at 10,000 steps a day. It is highly motivational; put it on and spend time gardening and compare the results with a non-gardening day, and you will feel very smug. Does gardening help banish post Christmas blues? For many years research has shown that exercise helps to relieve depression. In addition, gardening can become an addictive pursuit, making you want to go outside and exercise more. In addition you can produce fantastic, healthy food while keeping your body fit with all sorts of planting and propagating movements and motions. No wonder gardeners live longer. Garden Your Way to Health and Fitness by Bunny Guinness and Jacqueline Knox is published in April 2008 for £14.99. To pre-order the book contact Timber Press info@timberpress.co.uk; 0207 372 4601 From The Telegraph.

Green paradise

Jaser A. Marasigan, Mark Balmores (photos)

Travelers would know they are in Guiguinto, Bulacan when the nurseries filled with a variety of ornamental plants and flowers in Barangay Tabang, along the North Luzon Expressway are already in sight.

Garden owners, hobbyists and landscape artists formerly based in Hagonoy relocated to Guiguinto due to the perennial flooding in the said town. The relocation proved to be ideal as they have worked wonders for Guiguinto which is now carving its name in the country’s landscaping industry.

Almost one–fourth of the town’s 2,512 hectares has been converted into nurseries. More than 500 families of gardeners and landscapers were encouraged to form a cooperative to help them improve the business and, likewise, promote Guiguinto as the "garden city" of Bulacan.

Today, an area in Barangay Tabang has been serving as the exhibit area of landscape styles and the most sought-after garden plants of the members of the Guiguinto Garden City Cooperative.

Digging gold

Mayor Isagani Pascual enthused that the landscaping business in Guiguinto has already become a R50 million industry. Some of the garden owners are even suppliers of Ayala Center and Araneta Center.

According to Jojo Sebastian, chairperson of the Guiguinto Garden City Cooperative, during the peak season, from September to April, stores usually sell between P100,000 to P300,000 worth of plants and contracts for garden and landscapes designs a month. Low season starts during the rainy months, from May to August.

"Landscaping is both a science and an art," said Rene Robles, the former chairperson of the cooperative. "A good landscaper should understand both the elements of nature and construction, and blend them together."

The art of gardening is an ancient practice, and has had great religious and social significance. Landscaping has evolved differently in various regions, which simply reflects the reality that each part of our planet has its own native plants.

"A designer doesn’t have to adopt a specific style. Just by examining the principles of this type of art, plus its time–honored styles, the designer can expand his techniques and create a unique and expressive landscape design. There is no limit to the creativity the designer has in his or her disposal," explained Robles.

Halamanan Festival

To give the town a distinct identity and boost its economic potential, the "Halamanan Festival" or Garden Festival was created.

Mayor Pascual promises that this year’s celebration will be a more colorful one. "Through the years, the festival has boosted the ornamental plant industry. This is our way of helping the stakeholders in improving their industry. We promote it with the festival and at the same time, position Guiguinto as the country’s garden city," he said.

The Halamanan Festival, now on its ninth year, coincides with the celebration of Guiguinto Foundation day on Jan. 23. The members of the cooperative will showcase their talents and skills in the art of landscaping and gardening. They compete in different design categories to showcase the growing industry.

Thousands are also expected to come to witness the colorful street dance competition. An added delight to visitors is the sale of ornamental plants at much lower prices.

Origins

Guiguinto began as a barrio of Bulacan town, the former provincial capital of Bulacan.

According to legend, every full moon, a golden bull emerges from the Church of San Ildefonso and goes down to the nearby river to quench his thirst. It then returns to the church, ascends at the altar and disappears. The elders believed that there are gold jars buried in the town, as indicated by the bull, and that is why the town was called Guiguinto.

The town of Guiguinto is second to Obando as the smallest municipality in Bulacan. It is bounded on the East by the town of Balagtas, on the west by Malolos, on the North by Plaridel, and on the South by Bulacan. It is situated approximately 34 kms. northeast of Metro Manila.

The imminent government project for a mass transit railway system from Manila to Clark, passing through the central town of Guiguinto, is expected to boost the municipality’s infrastructure development.

From The Manila Bulletin Online.

The Seedy gardner: Five House Plants You Should Have

By David Emerson

— It's difficult to imagine a home without at least one house plant, especially here where the winters are longer than a visit from Leona Hemsley. If you have a green thumb, you can skip this section. If you think you have a brown thumb, we need to talk. Itís actually not the thumb that counts. Itís the index finger. Most plants are killed by over watering or under watering. The best tool you can possess is your finger. Thrust it about an inch into the soil. If the soil is moist, go have a cup of coffee and relax. If the soil is dry, water the plant. Problem solved. If the soil is too hard packed to get your finger in, you need to repot the plant into a soilless mix. ProMix is a dandy product.
Do a bit of research. There are dozens of fine books available and hundreds of online sites that will give you the basic care requirements of any plant. Think about where the plant came from. A desert succulent isn't going to be happy in a dark corner sitting in a saucer of water. This isn't rocket science; you can handle this one.
Here's the real secret. When your plant gets old and ratty, toss it out and get a new one. I know it's an alien concept, but trust me on this one. Often, you can take cuttings and start a new plant at no cost. Remember that philodendron that you inherited from your grandmother, the one that's 28 feet long with 12 leaves? Newsflash! It's never going to look any better than it does now. If it has a sentimental value, cut it into pieces and root them.
Now for the list of plants that should be in every home:
Spathiphyllum, AKA peace lily — this laid-back, lily impersonator is incredibly easy to get along with. It's tolerant of low light conditions and haphazard care. There are varieties ranging from corner-filling giants to diminutive windowsill models. Keep your peace lily constantly moist. A pitcher of water will bring back a wilted spathiphyllum, but just when you thought you got away with it, a number of leaves will turn yellow. Avoid the problem by not letting it get too dry.

Clorophytum elatum, the spider plant, airplane plant — I know they're as common as dirt, but they're showy, easy to grow, easy to propagate and the remove indoor pollutants from the air. Tainted water or over fertilization may cause the tips to brown. The damage can be trimmed off with scissors. The solid green variety is very robust and a bit more compact than its variegated cousin. Spiders love to summer outside in a spot with dappled shade. You can plant the "babies" in a shady flower bed for annual appeal.
Pothos aureus, devilís ivy — taxonomists have changed the Latin name to Epipremnum aureum. Taxonomists have too much time on their hands. Bright indirect light will keep the plant compact and the variegation vivid. Yellowing leaves are usually caused by too much water.
Rosmarinus officinalis, rosemary — This Mediterranean treasure rewards you with fragrance every time you brush against it and provides a ready, endless supply of fresh flavor. Put it out in the summer and keep it in a sunny window all winter. Rosemary, which lives about four years and can be propagated from cuttings, can be trimmed into standards and topiaries.
Plectranthus australis, Swedish Ivy — This Australian native should be occasionally restarted from cuttings. Fortunately, it's wicked easy to root. Snap of the end of a branch and stick it into soil. Roots will form quickly. Bright indirect light and restrained fertilization will keep it compact. Pinching the tips will create a fuller plant.
May your lawn be resting comfortably beneath the drifts and may your crocus be spring-loaded and ready to go.

From Mount Washinton Valley

Tiny flower's will to live offers lessons

Common snapdragon
By CINDY DECKER - from the Columbus Dispatch

A snapdragon blooms in Columbus.

Not quite as lofty as a tree growing in Brooklyn, but you get the idea.

As I wrote this in late December, a lush and feisty snapdragon continued to flower a few yards from the Dispatch building, defying nature.

No one told this snapdragon that it should have died long before, that temperatures dipping into the 20s ought to have withered its stems, turned its leaves black.

But it grew, as it did all year, oblivious to its less-than-optimal conditions.

This plucky plant was not a coddled greenhouse flower carefully tended through the growing season. It was a volunteer -- a plant that started on its own from seeds dropped by a predecessor.

From the outset, the snapdragon had battled the odds. Unless wind or an animal carried the fine seed to the flower bed, the minuscule grain that provided life was at least several years old, the flower bed having been bare the past two summers.

Walking past the bed daily, I noticed the plant grow and flourish as spring turned to summer. More than once, I wondered how it could live when it didn't seem to receive any rain; the overhang of a building keeps the bed desert-dry.

And yet the snapdragon survived -- nay, thrived.

Through June and July, the low-growing plant was covered with pale yellow blossoms kissed with a peach blush.

But as July turned to August, the plant "stalled" in summer's inferno, and blooms tapered off.

Fearing that the snapdragon would not overcome both heat and drought, I gave it a glass of water. Far from showing its appreciation with perky leaves and a burst of color, the plant took on a spindly and fragile look after my ministrations. It drooped and lost its remaining flower buds.

I thought of the rules that explorers follow on Star Trek and decided I should take no further action that would interfere with the natural course of events. Whatever would happen to this plant would happen. I would simply observe.

The snapdragon bounced back as summer's heat eased, and it began blooming profusely again. It did not stop until New Year's Day, when snow claimed the plant.

Blooms are frozen in time.

But the plant -- which should have lived only the summer -- had already far exceeded expectations, thanks to a pocket kept warm by stone, concrete and marble.

As we begin 2008, I can gather inspiration from the snapdragon.

The lessons?

• You don't need a lot to live well.

• Ignore those who say you can't succeed.

• Hang tough through the worst of times; the situation is bound to improve.

• Beautiful things can result from powerful struggles.

• Life might not always be easy, but it's always colorful.

• And, last: Live fiercely all your days, however many you have.

Swiss botanists hope for pot luck with new Edelweiss

An Edelweiss flower in the wild

From Google

GENEVA (AFP) — Asterix and Obelix had to scale snow-capped peaks to find it, but Swiss botanists said Monday they have created a variety of the famous Edelweiss flower that is literally more down-to-earth.

The silver-starred Alpine flower usually only grows between 1,800 and 3,000 metres above sea level (5,905-9,842 feet), but researchers at the Agroscope Changins-Waedenswil institute in southwestern Switzerland have developed a longer-stemmed version that can be grown in soil or a household pot.

The new variety of Edelweiss has a stem measuring between 20-30 centimeters (8-12 inches) but work is continuing in the hope of making them even longer and thus more conducive to commercial production, institute official Celine Gilli told AFP.

"We would like it to be possible to buy them at a florists in a few years' time, at least in Switzerland," she said.

Once cut, the flower can survive for a long time in a vase, she added.

The Edelweiss is renowned for its healing properties -- hence the mountain quest by comic book favourites Asterix and Obelix in "Asterix in Switzerland" -- and the flower has been cultivated for commercial use in anti-wrinkle cream and other products, Gilli said.

She stressed that the Edelweiss will retain its unique allure even if you don't have to climb a mountain to get one.

"The aim is not to make it an everyday flower, rather one that comes at a certain price," she said.

What's hot in the garden for 2008 (Hint: Think green)

By George Weigel

Newhouse News Service

Beef up the patio. Hold the chemicals. And garnish the yard with high-performing, low-work plants and a dash of organically grown vegetables.

That's the menu of gardening trends as we head into 2008.

Here's a quick look ahead to what's in and what's out on the gardening scene:

What's in

• Anything "natural" or "organic."

• Composting yard waste.

• Recyclable rice pots.

• Native and no-spray plants.

• Compact, low-maintenance plants.

• Plants with long-lasting blooms, colorful leaves and multiseason interest.

• Varied plantings aimed at attracting birds, bees and butterflies.

• Lots of landscape color, especially orange, gold, mango and similar "warm" tones.

• Rain barrels and conserving water.

• Rain gardens.

• Do-it-yourself landscape projects (at least the planting part).

• More elaborate and fully furnished patios.

• Small-scale, organically grown home vegetable and herb gardens.

• Container gardening, including changing the plantings throughout the four seasons.

• Pondless water features (moving water empties into a buried vault instead of a surface pond).

• Sweeping, curved garden beds.

What's out

• Chemical sprays.

• Bagging leaves and grass clippings.

• Plastic pots.

• Non-native plants that might become invasive.

• Plants that take a lot of pruning or spraying.

• Boring or "two-week wonder" plants that don't change with the seasons.

• Big lawns and the same old few plant types everyone else has.

• Bland beds with little more than boxed or balled evergreens.

• Running sprinklers indiscriminately.

• Piping rainwater ASAP into the gutters.

• Hiring a company to do entire landscape improvements from A to Z.

• A basic concrete patio or deck with a table and stand-alone grill.

• Large vegetable gardens that take a lot of digging, hoeing, weeding, etc.

• Packing all the flower pots away at the end of October.

• Free-formed, hand-dug, clean-out-once-a-year water gardens.

• Squared-off garden bed.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Keeping an indoor plant alive requires care

By ANNIE FLANZRAICH • The Associated Press • December 16, 2007

They sit on grocery or home-improvement store shelves, waiting for someone to nurture them. But a worse fate could lie ahead … too small pots, too little sunlight or the worst of all, over-watering.

That's what a common houseplant can endure given an owner who knows little to nothing about plant care.

""I think people buy things on a whim,'' said Kate Hogan author of ""37 Houseplants Even You Can't Kill.'' ""They look at those beautiful flowers and think 'that would look so beautiful on my sideboard.' But they're not looking ahead to a week from then.''

It's easy enough to turn your thumb … and home … green. It just requires a little
know-how, the right kind of plant and proper care. These steps will help stop even the most clueless gardener from becoming a plant killer.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Instead of perusing a plant shelf and picking the first leafy item that catches the eye, plant experts recommend first identifying where the plant will live.

""Once you identify a location, you can figure out how much sunlight the plant will
need,'' said Mike Gettler, Merchandising Vice President Nursery and Outdoor Fashion for Lowe's.

It's also important to pick plants that will thrive in your environment, be that a dry
desert climate or a low-lit apartment, said Marie Iannotti, About.com Guide to Gardening.

IN-STORE CHECKUP

Researching plant varieties beforehand is advisable, but reading the plants' label in the store is another option. Once at the store, pick a plant that already looks healthy.

""You don't want to buy a plant that is sick or has dropping leaves before you get it out of the store,'' Hogan said.

WATCH THE WATER

After taking the plant home, the next step is to examine its the pot. A pot with little
drainage can be a death sentence … especially combined with over-watering.

""You'd essentially be suffocating the plant,'' said Darin A. Pines, Director and Chief Operations Officer for U.S. Farms, Inc. ""Just make sure the pot has drain holes in it.''

Another way to avoid over-watering is to test the plant's tolerance, said Mike DuVall, senior live good merchant at Lowe's. Measure out the water used to water the plant and then measure the runoff that leaves the plant.

""Everyone wants to over-water and that is the death note for most house plants,'' DuVall said.

SET THE STAGE

Finally, Hogan recommends keeping plant care easy by grouping plants together on a tray for convenient access.

""People want some pretty greenery in their home but most people don't want to spent a lot of time taking care of them,'' Hogan said. ""The more you have things well set up the more likely you are to take care of the plants.''

Gardening column: Bare root plants offer reasons to choose them

Joan Swenson

The annual negotiations have begun at our house. Exactly what new tree will we be planting to replace the aging green Pluot tree that I think needs to be removed?

Photos:

Photo by Dan Ocampo

It’s the beginning of the bare root season in which fruit and shade trees, roses (as pictured in this file photo), berries, vegetables and decorative flowering shrubs are available for winter planting.

The Pluot, more than a decade old, has been oozing huge amounts of sap from its trunk and some of its branches for years. A section of the tree died last summer and I believe that the tree has borers that are slowly destroying the old tree. But the only way my husband will consent to removal is if we can find the right tree with which to replace it.

It’s the perfect time for the discussion because it’s the beginning of the bare root season in which fruit and shade trees, roses, berries, vegetables and decorative flowering shrubs are available for winter planting.

Planting now, despite the chilly weather, is a great idea for three reasons:

Reason No. 1: Bare root plants are a bargain — we’ve seldom paid more than $20 for a tree and have been repaid many times over with delicious, home-grown fruit. Roses and other plants are even less expensive.

Reason No. 2: Control of the plant’s shape. If you plant bare root fruit trees, you’re the one who will do the important first pruning that will determine the shape of your tree for its lifetime. A new peach, plum, apricot or nectarine should be lopped off approximately 24 inches from the ground in order for the first major branches to develop.

Reason No. 3: Fresh, new plants. Bare root plants are primed and ready to put in the ground. Furthermore, some plants can’t be bought at any other time of year, including certain types of roses, vegetables and berries.

I like to buy bare root trees at locally owned nurseries where the people who are selling the trees are knowledgeable about the plants and who stock trees that are known to do well here.

We have stuck to planting nectarines, peaches, plums and apricot trees over the years. But you can also buy cherry trees, apple trees (good nurseries will stock varieties that will produce fruit in Bakersfield), pears (crisp Asian pears and the European standards) figs and persimmons. Nut trees including pecans and almonds are also available.

Fruit trees take space to grow and you will have to do dormant-season pruning to encourage the trees to produce fruit each year. It takes commitment to have a great home orchard. Dave Wilson Nursery, a grower of bare root trees that are sold at some local nurseries, is a great resource when it comes to choosing bare root plants and offering advice to people with back yard orchards. See www.davewilson.com/ for information about growing lots of fruit in limited space, including putting multiple trees in the same hole. Be sure to read the section called “What’s Said in Ed’s Head,” home nursery expert Ed Laivo’s thoughts on growing fruit, with a funny rant about the “neurotic” quest people have for red apples and another one about poor quality grocery store plums titled “You Know the Chevy Plum? —Like a Rock?”

Every nursery should have bare root roses this month. To buy the best quality roses, look for those labeled No. 1 grade. You’ll pay a premium for roses that are recently patented, but you can find plenty of older roses whose patents have run out that are beautiful and less expensive. Tags will give you information about the roses, as well as a good picture of the blossom color.

Pretty blooming plants such as flowering quince, lilac, and magnolia soulangiana are also for sale bare root. Magnolia soulangiana is also known as saucer magnolia, a magnificent plant with the huge white, pink or deep pink blossoms.

Bare root vegetables include horseradish, artichokes and asparagus. Bare root berries include strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, loganberries.

What’s with bare root plants that aren’t bare root?

Traditionally, bare root plants were sold from bins of damp sawdust. The naked roots of the plant could be pulled from the sawdust and examined and you took your plant home in a loose bag with a little bit of sawdust to keep it moist. You can still buy some true bare root plants – White Forest Nursery, 300 Morning Drive, has the biggest selection around – but more nurseries sell bare root plants packed with sawdust in tightly bound plastic bags that look a bit like sausages.

You’re likely to have good success with either a packaged “bare root” plant or the plant from the nursery that’s truly bare root.

Be cautious about buying bare root plants that are kept indoors before you buy them. The plants will leaf out indoors and if you plant the tree or rose bush, the greenery is likely to be killed by January’s frosts. The plant may not have enough strength to produce more greenery for spring.

Best advice: buy bare root plants early in the bare root season and get them planted soon after bringing them home. If you have to wait a few days to plant true bare root plants — those whose roots you were able to examine at the nursery — store them in a bucket of water until you can get them planted.

To plant a bare root tree or rose, dig a hole 12 to 18 inches deep and wide enough to accommodate the spread of the roots. Build a mound in the center of the bottom of the hole to support the plant. You’ll spread the roots over the mound, arranging the plant so that the plant ends up being located at the same level in your soil as it was in nursery where it originally grew.

Back fill the hole with soil and build a soil berm around the plant to create a watering basin. Fill the berm with water; watch for bubbling, which indicates air holes around the roots. Tamp down the soil further to eliminate the air pockets that will cause roots to dry out.

From Bakersfield.com

Vowing to visit more gardens, ignore all the rules next year

By Katherine Grace Endicott

From:

Pathetic, though gardening resolves may be, all gardeners could use them. For there isn't a creature born on this good planet that comes into life knowing the difference between a rose bush and a rutabaga.

All we know of gardening is acquired knowledge. Resolutions put the gardener in mind of past mistakes.

Here are a few of my resolutions:

Resolve not to feel guilty about discarding an unsatisfactory plant. It's not murder, it's mercy killing.

Resolve to deadhead the roses and annuals in bloom this year, to keep those flowers coming.

Resolve to divide the cymbidiums after blooming, before they break their pots in an escape effort.

Resolve to grow plants beloved by wildlife, particularly butterflies and hummingbirds. Do not panic over honeybees. Encourage earthworms. Fill the birdbath every day.

Resolve to visit more gardens this year, particularly my own.

Resolve to ignore garden rules. Gardening is an affair of the heart. Remember that many discoveries are made by younger people because they have not yet learned the rules. Go for it.

Tasks:

-- Garden plants used indoors for the holidays - such as azalea, cyclamen or hydrangea - should be put outside in a sheltered spot until you are ready to give them a permanent home.

-- Living Christmas trees should be brought outdoors and watered well. If you plant a living Christmas tree in the ground, remember that most of them grow very large. Poinsettias will survive in a sunny, sheltered spot in mild-winter areas, but they typically look scrawny, so you may want to pass on the idea and toss the plant.

-- Watch for frosts and protect vulnerable plants by covering them. Do not prune branches blackened by frost until March, when the true damage will be more apparent. Mother nature often stages amazing comebacks.

-- The rainiest and the coldest months of the year are usually January and February. Do not walk on soggy garden soil, particularly clay soil.

-- Prune hybrid tea roses. They bloom only on new wood. Cut back canes, one-third to one-half, leaving canes at least 18 inches long. Cut above a swelling bud pointing out from the center. Remove all suckers and dead wood.

-- Prune climbing roses to remove twiggy growth and weak shoots. Prune canes that flowered last year to three or four buds.

-- Do not prune old garden roses unless you know where to prune. Old garden roses are very individual. Spray roses and fruit trees with horticultural oil mixed with water to kill overwintering insect eggs, mites, soft bodied insects and some scales.

Prepare Plants, Pipes For Another Cold Night

From: www.kristv.com

Last night's big chill and near-freezing temperatures coming tonight could mean trouble for pipes and plants without a few simple precautions.

When temperatures dip below freezing, let faucets drip a little to keep water flowing.

Open cabinet doors in your kitchen and bathroom to get more heat around the pipes. Pipe insulators, available for about $2 at a hardware store, may also be helpful.

Bring indoor plants inside. If you can't, be sure to cover them with a light blanket, sheet or a plant insulator.

Plastic coverings can damage plants.

Covering flower beds with mulch can also help trap heat as well.

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