Cutting back the Pampas Grass for next summer's growth

Well it is February 19 and here in the Ozarks of Missouri it is 48°F (9°C).  So today I am cutting back the Pampas Grass.  This is a project I should have taken care of in the fall as a part of preparing my rural property for the fall fire season. 

Things you will need: Medium weight rope, Twine, Scissors

and a Chain Saw.

 

The first thing I do is to tie the grass into a tight bundle with the medium weight rope

Next I take the twine and re-tie the bundle of grass.  You may want to tie the bundle in a few places. This will help you with keeping the grass in a bundle and not fall apart should you mistakenly cut the twine when cutting with the saw.  Remove the rope. 

 

Using your chain saw, cut the bundle of grass off.   Leaving about 8 - 12 inches of stubble.  

Some people will burn off the “stump” of stubble, but I will need to wait until the winds are correct before I burn.

Finished!!!
Photos taken by Sarah 

Earlier I talked about doing this project in fall as a part of preparing my rural property for the fall fire season here in the Ozarks.  If you live near forested lands or in rural areas where your neighbors burn off their forest or pastures you will want to make sure you clear away things like Pampas Grass and dead leaves from around our home.  Go on-line to http://www.firewise.org/ to learn more about building a “Defensible Space” around your home so you don’t lose your home to a wild land fire. 

Buying Garden Seeds with Food Stamps?

Buying Garden Seeds with Food Stamps?

The other day I heard that you can buy vegetable seed with food stamps.  After checking around and looking on the internet it turns out that indeed you can purchase “seeds and plants which produce food for human consumption” with Food Stamps.  This came about under the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-86, August 10, 1973). 

There are many blogs and articles about this on the internet.  There are two things they do recommend about doing this.  The first is to check with your state office that is in charge of the Food Stamp Program, or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) program as it is called in most states today, to make sure your particular state has not placed any restrictions on the purchase of seeds and plants.  The second thing is to check with the retailer you will be purchasing your seeds and plants from that, 1 - they are aware you can purchase seeds and plants and  2 - they have the means to accept your EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) card.

The logic behind this is that people can increase the purchasing power of their food stamps by growing their own vegetables.  Think about it.  A $2.50 tomato plant will give you tomatoes all summer long and at the end of the season you can have fried green tomatoes (be sure to buy “Indeterminate” tomatoes and not “Determinate” tomatoes).  If you were to buy a $1.25 packet of tomato seeds, you would have enough tomatoes to give to your neighbors.

Now if you do not have a place to have a garden you can grow most vegetables in pots or containers and grow them on your porch or patio.  You can also ask if there is a “Community Garden” in your community where you can have a small plot of land to actually plant a garden.  In the case of my community, the local Methodist Church has provided an area for a community garden.  There is no fee and tools and water are provided.

So now you can have fresh, flavorful and inexpensive vegetables to serve yourself and your family. 

How to make seed starter pots from recycled news paper

Items needed: 

     News paper     Stapler      6oz tomato past can      
     Potting soil
 This is an idea I got off the net. I adapted it to fit my local news paper that measures 23.5 “ tall by 22” wide.  

 

 

Fold the paper in 4th"s along the 22” edge 

and cut folds (I used a knife).

Now you will have 4 strips of news paper that
measure 23.5” by 5.5”.

Note: I painted the back side of the paper Yellow so you can better see what is going on.

 

Next, along the 23.5” edge of the paper,
fold over a 1/2” - 3/4” strip. This will
become the collar for the finished pot.

 

Turn the paper over so the newly folded collar is underneath the paper. Take the tomato past can, lining it up with the folded collar's edge of the paper.

NOTE: Keep the collar folded to the outside so you can remove the can easer.

 

Carefully start to roll the news paper around the tomato past can.

 

When finished warping the can, place the can

collar down on the table.

Starting with the seam of the news paper, start

folding the edges over the can.

 

Gently remove the can from the newly formed pot.

 

Lastly, staple the seam of the pot to help secure

everything. 

 

Add potting soil and plant your seeds.

 

How to make seed starter pots from recycled news paper

Welcome to my gardening Blog

This gardening blog is dedicated to my Grandma Dorcelle.  She's the one who sparked my interest in gardening at the age of 5.  She always had a garden and a house full of potted plants.

One day I told her "I wanted to plant a garden."  She showed me how to dig up and prepare the soil.  We planted my vegetable seeds in neat rows, placing the empty seed packets on sticks at the beginning of each row to identify what I had planted.  I was so excited!  The next day I went out to my garden.  I got the rake and started raking away at the soil just like I had seen my Grandmother do hundreds of times.  I did not know that when she was raking, she was loosing the soil and removing the small weeds. With my raking, all I did was mixing up all the newly, neatly, planted seeds.

The name "Baxter Street Gardener" comes from the street she lived on in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  She taught me so much and I hope this blog will help others with their gardening.

Thank you Grandma.  And thank all of you for following my blog.  Thom