Ready for Spring Seed Exchange!

I am so excited to bring to the area a community seed exchange!

The foot of snow that just dumped on us reminds us that it is still winter, but Spring is coming!  We will be starting seeds soon, maybe even on our new growing racks!

Ready for Spring 
Community Seed Exchange
with Abundant Design, LLC

WHEN:   February 28th, 2015

9:30am - 12:00pm/Noon

WHERE:  Waukee Family YMCA

210 North Warrior Lane
Waukee, IA 50263 (map)
   (515) 987-9996

What is a Seed Exchange?

A seed (& plant) exchange is exactly what it sounds like—a forum for swapping out seeds and plants with fellow gardeners, or those aspiring to be.  They allow gardeners to come together and share seeds, cuttings, and transplants from their own gardens to swap with others.  They are a great way to get rid of some of your extra seeds and get something new to grow — all for free!  It's also fun to chat with other gardeners, get some growing tips and build community.

 

Click Here  > >  RSVP  < <  Click Here

Everyone is welcome

This event is for anyone who has seeds or wants seeds.  Expert gardeners.  Beginner gardeners. Aspiring gardeners.  Seed-savers. You. If you don’t have any seeds to swap, still come!  There should be plenty of seed to share with everyone as well as extra seeds available!

There will even be Door Prizes!!! 
Drawing at 11:00 am

How it works

There will be two groups of tables at this exchange:

Share Tables - These tables will be where you can place seeds for others to browse and take as needed, and for you to take items to try. Everyone brings seeds to the swap and puts the seeds out on the large tables. These areas will be free-sharing for all.

Barter Tables - These tables will be for your rarer items that you would trade if you got another more desired item. If someone has rare or expensive seeds, they may be more specific in what they will accept in trades, and you see if the person who brought them is interested in anything you brought.

Most likely, people will just want to share their extra seeds, and they’ll let you take some even if they don't happen to need anything you brought.

 

What to bring

You can bring any kind* of seeds/plants to trade: flowers, vegetables, herbs, annuals, perennials, bulbs — it doesn't matter. You can bring seeds you've collected yourself or leftover seeds from packets you have purchased.

It’s really pretty easy…

• Bring any extra seeds that are no more than two or three years old.
• Store-bought, mail-ordered or home-saved; all seeds* are welcome.
• If you are bringing seeds you saved yourself, please be sure they are from non-hybrid or knowledgeably hybridized plants, and were saved properly.
• You can bring the seeds in whatever packaging is easiest for you. If you can, make individual little seed packets for people to take. Please repackage large quantities of seeds into smaller envelopes or plastic baggies. 10-30 seeds are plenty. If you just want to bring your opened seed packet with leftover seeds in it, that's fine, too.
• If you bring seedlings make sure the plants are healthy and well cared for.
• Please clearly label all seed packets and plants with the variety name, year and source plus any special instructions or notes (for example, "These seeds need to be soaked before planting" or "My great-grandmother brought these seeds from the Old Country").
• Little envelopes and a writing utensil so that you can collect and label your “loot”

*please no seed saved or propagated from patented plants 

You do not need to be a seed starting expert — people will gladly share growing tips! 

Here's a very thorough FREE download for more information on seed saving.

http://www.seedambassadors.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/seedzine4handout.pdf

Each day the sun is up 2 minutes, 9 seconds earlier...

Have a
Happy Groundhog Day!

Small changes now...

...result in a big changes over time.

This is the Vector Principle, or Vector Changes, as my friend Jerry Foster puts it in his book LifeFocus.  When we make a small change in our lives, it may seem insignificant at first but as more time passes the change becomes abundantly clear how we are improving the different areas of our lives.

Benjamin Franklin was also known for hard work to improve himself.  Born into poverty with only a couple years of formal education, Franklin rose to become a man of considerable wealth and influence.  He was a respected scientist and statesman, a Founding Father of the United States of America.  As a young man, Franklin came up with a list of four areas of his life, broken into a set of thirteen virtues of which he would focus on improving one each week.  At the end of the thirteen weeks he would start again and build on the changes he had made.

A lot of us want to eat local/humane/organic/paleo food, exercise the primal way, rely on solar or wind energy and give up the car for a bike.  It doesn't have to be all or nothing.  Don't give up because you can't or won't sell the house in the city to get a small farm and try the homesteading lifestyle.  Don't stop trying if you can't leave the 'burbs behind to forage for berries and live off the land in the wilderness like Grizzly Adams.  We can make incremental improvements, the vector changes, to get closer to where we want to be; and the benefits will multiply over time.  Plus, the healthy example we show our children, our neighbors, our friends, will be contagious and expand our impact beyond ourselves.

I used to be a big fan of Lucky Charms cereal, much to my wife's dismay.  They were mainly oats (right after sugar), so healthy like Cheerios right?  And the marshmallows (or styrofoamy knock-offs) were delicious... over time my breakfast choices have changed for the better.  This weekend she surprised me with a box of Mom's Best cereals Mallow Oats.  Oh great, generic or greenwashed Lucky Charms other men might have thought ;) but these are the real deal.  Delicious marshmallows that don't stick to your teeth, ingredients you can pronounce and count on your fingers, no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or colors (colored with blueberry and carrot concentrates).  So if you are just beginning a healthier, more sustainable (made with wind energy) stage of life, your kids might appreciate this baby step.

For more chemical free food consider the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen foods list.  Apples top the list at #1 for residual pesticides, followed by Strawberries in the number two spot.

1. Apples
2. Strawberries
3. Grapes
4. Celery
5. Peaches
6. Spinach
7. Sweet Bell Peppers
8. Nectarines (Imported)
9. Cucumbers
10. Cherry Tomatoes
11. Snap Peas (Imported)
12. Potatoes

    and the list continues...


A lot of these fruits and vegetables can be grown right here in central Iowa.  You can look for these locally and I encourage you to get to know your producer, too.  By getting to know them you build community as well and gain insight in their growing practices.  Many small local growers look for more natural pesticide-free ways to grow, even if they aren't certified USDA Organic.  Their growing practices may even exceed these standards.

An even better vector change is growing your own, going hyper-local.  Many, like apples, strawberries and peaches, are perennial so that they will produce for you year after year without replanting.  Others such as spinach, cucumbers and peppers, are easily grown from seed in a small garden or raised bed.  Position this near your kitchen or back door and all you have to do is step out for fresh greens or vegetables.  While your at it, why not put in a few hardy, flavorful and healthy herbs, as well.

I would welcome the opportunity to help you make this happen.  Contact me and we can talk about a basic garden installation or more including fruit trees, berry patches and edible oases.

Thanks for checking in!

Low-Cost Seed Starting

This week I continue helping you get ready to start plants early this year.  This will give your vegetables and other plants a head start to the growing season, without breaking the bank.

In the video I'll show you how to upcycle or make very low cost seed trays and larger temporary pots for transplanting.  After watching the video you'll know how to use all sorts of items around the house to fill up that new growing rack and help boost this years garden yields.

Egg cartons to convenience store cups to regular old newspaper can all be upcycled in this way!



To save even more money you can learn to save seeds or trade seeds with a friend or at a local seed exchange!  Watch for Des Moines and Central Iowa events announced here or on Facebook as I learn of them; or watch for announcements in your local newspapers and garden centers.

If you want to start a garden or more this year contact me now to get a plan in place so that your new plants you'll soon start will have a beautiful new place to go when they get bigger.

How-to Build a Growing Rack for Seed Starting

Welcome back for the first major post to the blog this year!  I hope you've had a great start to 2015.

If you've been getting seed catalogs in the mail you might be excited to get some things started but we are a bit early yet for most things.  This project might help you satisfy the need to "do some gardening" this winter.  In this video I'll show you how to build a simple and affordable growing rack for early seed starting using a resin shelving unit and fluorescent lights. 

You can also build a rack with wood, or use a wire shelving unit if that's what you have available.  My project is also set up out of the way, but you may have a South facing window and get a nice decorative growing rack that you want to display.  You'll be able to use the lighting section if you want to boost your "daylight" hours. 

For more information on grow lights:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grow_light#Light_spectra_used

If you would like to request seed catalogs follow these links to Seed Savers Exchange, Raintree Nursery, Baker Creek or High Mowing Organic Seeds.  Contact me if you would like links to even more.

Also, if you want a plan for your growing adventures, and the plants you'll start on your new growing rack, this year call or email for an appointment and we can discuss your options and opportunities!

I hope you enjoyed the video and put these ideas to use.  We'll build on this topic in the weeks to come so stay tuned!

Happy New Year 2015

Happy New Year! 

2014 was a great year with the way things came together with the business, completed several interesting projects and took advantage of many learning opportunities.

I look forward to a 2015 with more edible and sustainable design and installation projects, new service offerings and more events. 

Stay tuned, be inspired and let's do great things!