Archive for the ‘Recycling’ Category

Recycle Gardening Books by Donating to the Master Gardener Book Sale

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

My good friend and colleague, Kay, emailed the other day to ask if I had any old gardening books I no longer use that I could donate to the Master Gardener Fundraiser. I told her I’d do her one better — I’d post to the gardenhelp.org network of readers to draw from all of your libraries as well.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got gardening books on your shelf that you never crack. Sure, you have your favorites that are missing half a cover and cracked at the binding and held together with rubber bands. But, I bet you’ve got a few that just don’t fit your needs. Maybe you bought them online and were surprised they didn’t really live up to your expectations. Or, maybe someone gave you one as a well-meaning gift, but the topic doesn’t fit you. Or, perhaps you’ve moved from one region to another but kept books that ended up no longer applying.  Or, maybe you’ve got multiple copies or multiple editions of the same thing. There’s got to be at least one on the shelf that you can part with, right?

Heck, I just pulled three big books off my shelves to donate. I bet somebody out there wants them, right? Well, go to the sale!

  • The Practical Gardener’s Encyclopedia from Whitecap Books
  • Sunset Western Landscaping
  • Sunset Water Gardens

So, consider giving to the  ultimate book recycling program this spring by donating your used garden books to the Master Gardener Sale. The funds from these books will be used to educate the public about sustainable gardening practices.  And, a book sitting on your shelf gathering dust, taking up room that your newest “must have” title needs, will move on to the hot hands of another horty in need.

The goal of the Master Gardener’s of King County program is to help the public practice sustainable gardening through integrated pest management, water-wise planting and similar science-based methods of meeting the horticultural challenges of home gardeners in the Pacific Northwest.

Why give to the program (besides doing a little spring cleaning for yourself?):

The Used Garden Book Sale is an important part of the Master Gardener Plant Sale.

Proceeds support the Master Gardener Foundation of King County which is a not-for-profit organization formed to raise the funds needed to operate all of the educational programs organized and staffed by the more than 650 volunteer Master Gardeners of King County. These programs include 34 plant problem clinics, 11 demonstration / outreach gardens, 17 youth garden sites, free public classes in a variety of locations, a speaker’s list, 11 portable classroom teaching kits for use in schools and community groups and a diagnostics center in Seattle.

(And, folks, you’ll be hearing more on this blog soon about how budget cuts will likely be affecting these programs. The picture isn’t pretty.)

Which books are appropriate to donate?

Any garden-related topic; horticulture literature or essays; gardening journals/magazines that are fairly new. They’ll take very old gardening books as well…. One person’s “throw away” may be another’s “treasure”!

Where and When to Drop Your Donations:

  • Where: Books can be dropped off at CUH
  • When: Tuesdays, March 17, March 24, March 31, and April 14 between 9-noon. (If you can’t make these dates, see Kaye’s info below to arrange for another pick up time.)
  • Who: Ask for Kaye Moreton

Want to go shopping at the sale?

  • When: Saturday, May 2, 2009,  8am-5pm  and Sunday, May 3, 2009, 10am-3pm
  • Where: UW Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) in Seattle, WA

For More information or to arrange a special pickup/drop off:

  • Kaye Moreton: kmoreton(at)gmail.com or 425.308.0710
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Posted in Recycling, plant sales | 1 Comment »

Remove Moss then Donate and Recycle It!

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

It’s hard to believe, but the Northwest Flower & Garden Show opens one week from today! That means the show garden designers are scrambling for last items before they start building fantasy land in the Seattle Convention Center this weekend. The insanity starts on the empty convention floor on Saturday morning and continues until noon on Tuesday when designers are herded out the doors. Then, the judges enter, awards are made, and the spaces take a bit of a rest before the Arboretum Foundation gala later Tuesday evening.

Mossy Carpet Incubates Ferns & More

Mossy Carpet Incubates Ferns & More

I’m a card carrying member of the Seattle Arboretum Foundation, so along with all the other members I received a notice today asking for donations of moss for their show garden. Without giving away too much fact-behind-the-fantasy, I’ll just say that moss is used to help give a finished look to the “ground” of the show gardens.

If you have moss that you’re wondering what to do with — and I know many of you do — consider taking some time this week to hand-remove it and donate it to the Arboretum Foundation.

Put those Moss Out! bags back on the shelf. Leave the chemical aisles, and enter the garden. Moss is easy to remove from rooftops, lawns, hanging from trees, and shady cracks in the patio. Just take a rake to the lawn, a flat shovel to the garden beds, a trowel or hori-hori to the patio cracks or a push broom to the rooftop, and watch the moss roll away.  If you have hanging mosses, gently lift it from branches. Do not peel lichens from branches or you may disrupt the tree’s cambium. Do take care removing large “sheets” of it from forest floors. Moss forms an important part of the forest ecosystem and acts as a sponge for water that helps the forest floor stay cool and moist. If you remove some from these areas, please don’t take it all!

Here’s where to drop your moss donations:

  • Moss deliveries may be made to the Seattle Park Arboretum between 10am-4pm any day this week. Place moss in the two large wooden cold frames beside the weather station at the west end of the main green house next to the Graham Visitor Center at 2300 Arboretum East Drive.  Saturday, February 14th,  is the last day to drop off donations until noon only. For more information contact the Arboretum foundation at 206-325-4510.

Interested in joining the Arboretum Foundation, attending the gala or the 2009 Northwest Flower & Garden Show?

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Posted in Recycling, garden show, moss garden | 3 Comments »

Brita Water Filter Recycling Program (& More)

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Okay, so you probably aren’t filtering the water for your garden with a Brita filter, but we still thought this information was worldly enough to share with you. Sometimes, we like to get out of the garden and look at the whole world — the forest for the trees? So, when Katy sent me an email with this info, I asked for her okay to share it with our audience, and she agreed. Thanks Katy!

Even if you don’t use Brita to filter your water I bet you know someone who does (and can pass this along to).  Now you can recycle them, either at your local Whole Food store or by sending them by mail.  At this time it’s not clear if the Whole Foods in Washington (or everywhere) are running this drop off program (called Gimmie 5) but it’s worth asking if you shop there so they start knowing we are interested.

What’s remarkable about this is that one ordinary woman was fed up with throwing hers away and after being a squeaky wheel finally was able to get Brita to start a program to take back their filters!  Don’t ever underestimate your own power to change something you aren’t happy with if you put your mind to it.   So please, pass this along to someone with a  Brita and save one more thing from your local landfill.

About the program and where to drop off/mail.

About the woman who got this going.

Thanks for listening! Katy

And, Katy, thanks for being your own squeaky wheel and letting us know about this program!

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Posted in Recycling, and now for something completely different | 4 Comments »

Composting Food – It’s the Law! A Part of Seattle’s Zero Waste Initiative

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

There are some big recycling changes happening in Seattle in 2009. Already, styro-coffin take-away food containers are banned. Next up, in April, all food waste, including meat and dairy, will no longer belong in the trash can. Instead, homeowners will be expected to include it in their yard waste pick up. But, what if you don’t subscribe to curbside yard waste?

2009 Food & Yard Waste Carts

2009 Food & Yard Waste Carts

Well, if you live in an apartment, it appears you won’t be required to compost your food scraps. If you live in a single family residence, you will need to compost your food. New 13-gallon carts for compostables should be delivered to your home by the end of March, and you will be billed for pick up beginning in May.  You do have the option or order a cart larger than the standard 13-gallon size, which will cost you $3.60/month. The largest option is 96 gallons, which will run you $6.90/month.

What if you compost at home? Well, you can opt out of the curbside composting program. But, be aware that by doing so you may get a visit to verify you have a compost system at home!

If you do want a different size container or if you want to opt out of the program, you must notify Seattle Public Utilties of your choice no later than January 31, 2009. The form and additional information is available online here.

Personally, I do it all. I have indoor and outdoor vermicomposting systems as well as a passive leaf clipping composter. As well, I subscribe to curbside yard waste pick up. In our two-person household, we produce more food waste than our worm bins can process. And, our garden produces more clippings than our smallish bin can handle, and honestly, I’d rather use my limited garden space to garden than to put up a huge composting bin system. I have the option; I can pay to have my weeds and other waste taken away for just a few dollars a month. Yes, I end up buying in several yards of finished compost each year, but honestly, I doubt given my space and inputs, I could produce the volume of return material that I need anyway.

Plus, with the city’s recycling program slated to process meat, dairy and fish waste, the price is an even bigger bonus. In vermin-infested city limits where high-heat compost systems are unlikely, processing meat byproducts in compost just isn’t a great idea. I’m sure someone out there is having success, but frankly, for a few extra bucks a month, I’m happy to have the city haul it away for me.

A few questions remain for me about how this system will succeed:

  1. Just how nasty will these bins get, especially in the heat of summer? When food waste goes into plastic garbage bags, it’s fairly well contained. When it goes into an open pile of vegetative rubbish, what kind of nastiness will we be in for — even with 1x/weekly yard waste pick up?
  2. Will rats, crows, seagulls and other critters invade? Sure, they don’t get into the trash cans too often now, but leave the lid off on trash day and watch the party start. If the flip-floppy yardwaste lids remain a bit open from a too-long stick or a bushy pile of grass clippings, will the steak trimmings and moldy cheese bring in the vermin?

What’s next for the zero-waste initiative? Well, if you live in Seattle, you’ll remember all the hype about instituting a fee for having your groceries bagged in a store bag. Well, last I heard this was sent back to the table. Will it be put into play this year? We’ll see. What I have noticed, empirically, is more people using their own bags at the store more often. Good for you Seattle!

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Posted in Recycling, Sustainability, Vermicompost, composting | No Comments »