Two iffy replies and one good one

So, as of this morning, I've gotten iffy replies from the corporate level of two companies I wrote to. Home Depot and Albertson's each wrote back to tell me to contact the nearest location with my request.

I think it's a reasonable reply, though rather lazy on their part. Think it would have been just as easy to forward the request to the local store. 

For now, I think I'll wait for other replies. It's not like I need a lot of sponsors for this project, I just chose to contact multiple possible sources to increase the odds of success.

Overall, I like Lowe's system best. They actually have an entire system in place for such requests. It does include questions which come down to, "What's in it for us?", which is a reasonable question. Why should they donate anything if there isn't at least some positive exposure for them in doing so?

By the way, I have seen where such ideas as this have been around in some form or another for years. The big difference is that most of the systems which have existed have involved some form of profit for the people running them. They are generally listed as non-profit but then one such program receives seeds donated from seed companies. They offer the seeds "free, just pay shipping". The shipping for the seeds is $15. Not bad but I'm sure it could be cheaper, with boxes easily available for free from the post office. I may order some of the seeds in the future, just to see what I receive (are the seeds viable?) and then post a review. Has anyone ever ordered these? What was your experience?

While writing this, I got a reply from the governor's office. My request is being forwarded to the appropriate office and the email states, "I requested that your concern be given careful attention and that everything possible be done to help you." Always nice to be taken seriously.

Almost ready for Autumn/ Upping the Ante

Last night I burned bamboo and branches which were excess I couldn't use. Went to put the ashes in the compost pits this evening and found it still smoldering! Left it sitting until morning. Can add it to the pits then.

Got most of the leaves raked out from one wood pile. I still think I'll need a chain saw to cut down some of the longer pieces of wood. The shorter ones I can split sometime soon.

Got the grass cut and ran the mulching mower over the leaves, as well. It acts like a vacuum. Love that thing! Then tossed all of the leaves and clippings into the compost pits. Both pits were empty, so I'm restarting them from the bottom now. Still have a little weeding in the front yard but it got too dark to do that today.

The furnace wouldn't run and I suspected it was due to a broken support bracket for the blower motor. The fan mounts directly on the shaft and was jammed against the housing. Got a new bracket for $9 but it was slightly larger than the original, so I had to do a little modifying to get it to fit. Finished that tonight and I'm happy to say the furnace works great! Only had it running for a few minutes to test it but it heated the place up so much I had to turn on the swamp cooler afterward. It'll probably work even better after I block the swamp cooler draft. Still too many hot days when I have to sleep, since I work at night. I'm just happy it was nothing more expensive.

Continuing the efforts on the tree idea, I wrote to Albertson's grocery and Walmart tonight. Asked them for their expired tree fruits. That would provide both seeds and composting materials. I had asked Lowe's and Home Depot about the possibility of materials to build a greenhouse, so I can continue the effort all year.

Once I start hearing back from some of these offices, it will take some coordinating to make things run as efficiently as possible. If I get no positive responses, I will still be continuing with the same plans, just on a smaller scale to begin with.

Greening the planet/fighting hunger

Recently, I came up with an idea. I'm not one to sit around when I have a good idea, I act on it.

This idea will benefit the environment and make a healthy dent in world hunger at the same time. 

Best way to present it is simply to state what my plans are. 

I am going to start planting seeds of food-bearing plants, mostly trees. When these are ready for transplant, they will be given to whomever wants them. It does not matter where they are planted, the result will be much the same. New trees which feed the hungry and offer shade and improve the environment for decades. With proper permission, I will also plant in public spaces, such as parks that have existing grass, trees and irrigation.

I live near a river, so I will also be planting seeds along the bosque. (As it's called here. Most of the world calls it a delta.) My daughter and I can take walks beside the river with trowels in hand, planting seeds along the way. Then, we get to see the trees grow as she grows and know they offer benefits to those who need it. Not to mention it would be of benefit to the local wildlife.

For those who accept donations of trees, I will request but not demand that, in the future, they save and return seeds so that the effort can continue and expand. I will also ask that any excess be donated to the local food banks.

I am asking that others across the planet duplicate this effort. If only one person in each of 100 cities start 100 trees per year, that would add 10,000 new trees to the environment and the food supply! That is every single year! This can be done with a few hours of work, a couple of packages of styrofoam cups, a few dollars worth of seeds and occasional watering! The trees could then be donated to local schools, churches, boys and girls clubs for planting! It has the potential to be an exercise/activity with strong community building facets and could be used as a community service task. Uneaten excess in public areas would be collected and included in local composting initiatives.

This thought is idealistic but how much violence occurs because of hunger and stress over the cost of basic needs like food? Actions like this may not help decrease violence but I'm sure it would not hurt.

I know that produce farmers may object to this idea. However, with the increasing production of ethanol encroaching on our food supply, it's unlikely that farmers will go broke. This idea would produce more food and allow more agricultural land to be used for items which can be used for fuel.

As of this time, I have written and asked for assistance in the form of materials from: Mayor Martin Chavez, Albuquerque, NM; Governor Bill Richardson, NM; Lowes Home Improvement Centers; Home Depot Home Improvement Centers and President Barack Obama. I am waiting for responses from each.

Please take part in this effort and inform friends about it. Even those who do not garden may offer assistance in some way. Even if not, public support will be important to ensure success.

Composting

Some things I've learned since starting this garden have made me feel rather naive. One of the biggest is composting. I'm an intelligent person with a lot of interests but before this, when I heard the word "compost", I typically thought of a garbage pile. 

Once I started reading about composting, I thought it would take very long periods of time for a compost pile to become usable. I was also very apprehensive about the odor, even though the articles I read said that was not a concern, if handled properly. I did pay great attention to what not to put in my compost pit. 

It was a pleasant surprise for me when my first batch of compost took only about 5 weeks. I do know now I should have let that batch sit at least another week, just for curing. Some things I placed in it were a little too large and I wound up raking it out of the garden later. Yeah, that's attractive. Still, it did it's job quite well and I learned to be a bit more patient with the process. 

One thing I found conflicting information about was ash in the compost. After I had torn down a huge pile of bamboo and branches, I didn't have any place to put the stuff, so I burned it. I went with the people who said it would work and placed the ashes in the compost pits. Now I'm glad I did! When the compost was cured, I spread it all over the yard, including the grass. A few days later, the grass began turning greener than it has been since I moved in here (and I'd guess greener than it has been in many years). One note, however- my soil had tested very alkaline, so I had been adding various substances (all organic) to make it more acidic. 

I am still going to have to work on the acidity of my soil before next spring. I do know teh pH has to be lowered gradually or during the winter, otherwise plants get burned. Here, that's a big issue. Desert soil is notoriously alkaline. 

I planted a bunch of new seeds yesterday, as I read in Mother Earth News that this is a good time for last plantings of some items in this area. However, the weather is cooling down early this year and I'm highly expecting an early and harsh winter. So, I need to go cover the rows with plastic to retain moisture and help with night temperatures until the seeds germinate. Last chance to have a full garden this, my first season.

A green gardener

A few months ago, I bought a house here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The desert. Most houses here have rocks for yards and make strong effort to kill anything which grows in their yard. That's not my idea of a yard. So, when I was house hunting, I looked for a place which had a real yard, where I could grow grass and trees, hang a swing for my daughter and relax.

Now the first thing to know about me is that I am a confirmed nomad. As an adult, I can count 30 places I have lived long enough to change my address. Cannot count how many places I lived in for shorter periods of time. Multiple countries, states and cities. However, my now ex and I came to New Mexico while I was on contract. She liked it here and wanted to stay a while. I agreed, went off contract and signed a lease. Then she decided she wanted to split up. So, my daughter is here and I remain until she grows up. Not the absent father type. 

Got tired of paying ever-increasing rent and, since I know I'm going to be here for quite some time, bought a house. Note that everyone that has ever known me almost passed out at the news. They figured I'd have wheels on my coffin!

The house I bought is older. Kind of a fixer-upper but in good shape. Except the yard. I'll put it simply and say that I have been here for coming on 5 months and just now have the yard looking like a yard. My first thoughts when I saw the yard were that it genuinely looked like a battlefield which had been fairly extensively bombed in the past. Mounds, pits, depressions and one huge pile which is a long story in itself which I have written elsewhere. But I was attracted to the size of the house and yard, certain features and the price. 

Once I started getting the yard in some form of order, I decided to plant a garden. Now, I have never gardened before. Hard to raise a garden when you move frequently. So, I am a beginner at gardening. To add to that, even though this house is near a river, this is still the desert. 

If you live in the desert, most of the advice you find for gardening does not apply. Put plastic on the ground to retain heat for your plants. Um, not advisable.  Don't over-water your plants. Here, it's nearly impossible to water plants too much, as the ground dries almost as fast as you water.

I eliminated an entire field of weeds. I spread plant food, tilled, planted, watered. Many failed seeds and dead plants later, I tested the soil. (I know now, should have done that in the first place.) Turned out the soil was quite alkaline and had absolutely zero Nitrogen. Plus, the soil was nearly all sand which would retain no moisture at all. Hmm, that could be a problem, eh?

I dug a large compost pit. Later, I dug another compost pit. The first has now been turned out three times and the second has been turned out once. The ground is beginning to retain moisture and what grass I have is turning green. Four months ago, I spread grass seed on the bare areas which never sprouted. A couple of weeks ago, I was quite surprised when that grass seed began to grow! It was after I had scattered compost over the entire yard and we had seen a lot of rain.

So, now I have one tomato plant which has produced a few tomatoes, 7 pumpkin plants which are growing tiny pumpkins (my daughter is really happy about that), some cucumber plants which I doubt will yield anything this year but they are growing and some green beans which I planted in pure compost are crowding each other.

This is just a first post, so I'll end it here. I'll just say that I am enjoying turning the desert green!