Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

The site that I use is the About site (linked below), which has the most complete list of websites with birdhouse plans I’ve found. It’s very helpful.

If you want to check out a book with a ton of great ideas for birdhouses, bird feeders, landscaping ideas, and more, check out:

“Projects for the Birder’s Garden: Over 100 Easy Things That You can Make to Turn Your Yard and Garden into a Bird-Friendly Haven” By by Fern Marshall Bradley and the Editors of Yankee Magazine. That book has become my birding and backyard landscape bible. That book is awesome. When I first got the book, I made only the simplest of suggestions and changes outlined in that book, and saw instant results. 2 years later, we’ve attracted birds that are uncommon to rare in our area. That book was key in our Audubon backyard habitat certification, and I’m sure it’ll be right up your alley.

A lot of the activities in there are good for kids, too. We’ve done quite a few of them at our preschool. Check it out!

Some hints when it comes to birdfeeders:

Stain, don’t paint them. Pick neutral stains, like weathered grays and browns. Allow them to weather a bit, as it makes them more attractive to birds, and don’t be disappointed if nobody moves in the first year. 🙂

Pay careful attention to the size of the hole you drill for the birds to enter and exit the house. Different sizes attract different birds and animals.

Make sure you leave a way for you to open the birdhouse after nesting season to clean out any nests or debris in the house. Many birds will not return to their nests and very few birds will move into a house with a nest in it, making keeping them pointless. December is a good time to clean them out. Generally, making it so that one wall of the birdhouse will open is all you need, though tack it or screw it closed so it doesn’t flop open while it’s being nested in. 😉

And… Location, location, location. Pay attention to what birds you see in your yard, and what portions they frequent, and put your birdhouse there. If you put it some place they already frequent, you’re more likely to attract a resident, as opposed to a section of the yard where you don’t see birds. After awhile, you can spread out your houses to other areas of the yard, once the birdies get the idea that housing can be found on your property.

Also, a birdhouse that’s about 20 – 30 (or up to 50) feet from a feeder is ideal. 🙂

GardenersCardiff answers:

It don’t get any easier than the way this artist explains it – you don’t even measure – just get creative with what you have.

MAKING PAPER
From the Garden by Sharon Lovejoy

I am always irresistibly drawn to the paper selection at my local art supply store. I love the vast array of offerings, but I can’t afford to buy them. So, a few years ago, frustrated by the cost of flower paper, I decided to make my own.

I checked paper making books out of our library and found them all to be too complex. Too many rules and ingredients were listed alongside their recipes. So, I began to experiment to find a method of paper making simple enough for even children to master.

Your garden will supply you with enough plant fibers (such as straw, bark, stems, leaves, cornstalks, cabbage leaves, seeds, flower petals, hemp, linen, flax and cotton) to create your own unique papers. The key to your success is to make this an adventure. Experiment and remember that there are no set rules to paper making.

Ingredients:

*Blender
*Soaker buckets (non corrosive)
*Plastic wash tub large enough to accommodate the screened frame
*Pieces of pure rag paper cut or torn into small pieces (no larger than 2″)
*Large sponge
*Large plastic cups
*Felts of wool, canvas or burlap, cut slightly larger than proposed paper size. (Felts are used for absorption of water and drying.)
*A few pieces of water proof plywood, larger than paper size
*Screen stretched taut and secured to some sort of a frame. You can make your own with nylon screen stapled to wood. Or, go to a local screen shop and have some custom made. Screens stretched onto aluminum frames are not costly. Remember, the size of your frame determines your paper size. (Do a tiny frame for the kids so they can make their own fairy notes).

I don’t follow any measurements when making my papers. Like the traditional family soup pot, my bucket of ingredients changes daily according to what I trim or harvest from the garden.

Soak your selection of plant products in a large bucket for at least 24 hours. By the end of that time, the fibers should be somewhat broken down and mushy. Stems are tougher and may need to soak for 48 hours before you see any significant softening and separating of fibers. Use a stick to stir and beat the tougher stems. This is a job the children love.

Use your plastic cup to scoop the flower-stem pulp into your blender. Drop in a few small pieces of rag paper (think of the paper scraps as both thickeners and binders). Cap blender and turn it on low until the paper and flowers are blended. You may need to add a little water to the blender to facilitate the mixing. Your finished pulp should have the consistency of pancake batter…not too watery, not too thick.

Pour the blended paper, water and flower pulp into the rectangular wash tub. Repeat above process and add this to the wash tub. Repeat until the wash tub is at least 2/3 full of mush, your future paper.

At this point you may wish to drop in some essential oils to scent your paper. (I sometimes add old pot pourri to give scent and texture). Stir ingredients thoroughly. Move your screen through the mixture in a smooth, skimming motion. As you skim, try to cover the whole screen with a thin layer of pulp. Lift the filled screen above the water and allow the excess moisture to drain. Shake the screen gently from side to side; this strengthens the fibers in the paper.

You may wish to add some whole flower petals or pieces of vine to create an intricate pattern or design. Use your large sponge to press the petals and vine into the thin pulp on your screen. Wring out the sponge and press paper again to remove excess moisture.

Dampen your felts and place two of them on one of your pieces of plywood. Gently turn your screen upside down over the felts and transfer your paper from the screen onto the felts. Cover with another damp felt and put a piece of plywood over the stack. Press firmly to squeeze out excess moisture. Allow the paper to sit between felts and wood for a couple of hours. You can build tall stacks of felts, wood, and paper if you are producing in quantities.

After a few hours of pressing, the paper can be lifted off the felt and hung outdoors on a clothesline or placed on a flat, dry surface.

If you wish to marbleize papers (see examples in the paper making article in Country Living GARDENER , January-February 1997), you will need to purchase some special supplies at an art or craft store. First, there is a marbleizing medium that is added to clear water to thicken it. Then, special oil based or enamel paints are dropped onto the surface of the thickened water. By gently blowing the spots of paint, you can achieve the attractive, swirled marble effect. Quickly place your paper on the surface of the paint-marbled water, lift it, turn it over and repeat process, then hang to dry.

Happy paper making…remember, it is an adventure, so don’t fret, just do it!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Almost any vegetable combo. Think outside the garden. Maybe the salads you have been eating are too boring. Here are a couple of more exciting ones (I am not a salad lover either):

This is a real favorite – very simple to make:
Celeriac salad:
Ingredients:
For salad: (can be made a day ahead – needs 1 hour in fridge so do this first)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 lb celery root – quartered, peeled, and coarsely grated just before mixing (once cut into quarters or eighths it is easy to grate in a food processor)
1/2 tart green apple, peeled, cored, julienned
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and parsley in a medium-sized bowl. Fold in the celery root and apple and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.

Celery root is hard to cut through, like butternut squash, but it is doable. I have heard people recommend a rubber mallet, but have never needed one. Can be prepared one day ahead.

Or:

Russian Beet Salad:
2 beets
2 small potatoes or 1 large
1 carrot
1/2 white onion, diced small
2 whole dill pickles, chopped
1 T olive oil
Cook beets, potatoes and carrots in covered skillet in boiling water together until tender. Drain, cool and dice.

Combine all ingredients and toss with a tablespoon or two of the oil. Refrigerate. This is best when left to blend flavors. Can be used for more than one meal. Makes an excellent light lunch salad also or salad for a pot luck. And it is beautiful to boot.

Or:

Salad:
1 bunch spinach, fresh
3 T dried cranberries
3 T chopped walnuts (or almonds, or pine nuts)
1-2 oz goat cheese or feta cheese

Salad:
Wash and rinse spinach well, pat dry
Tear spinach leaves to bite sized
Mix all ingredients
Toss with basic vinaigrette dressing such as Good Seasons Italian or simply toss with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar..