Making the world a little greener
The Sage Page with our spare thyme!
Counting Down! 2015 Nashville Lawn & Garden Show is only two weeks away! Let’s get ready! This is a fun event - don’t miss it! • Show times are: Thursday, March 5th - Saturday, March 7th: 10am - 8pm & Sunday, March 9th: 10am - 5pm. • Set-up starts Monday, March 2nd & continues through Wednesday March 4th. We need volunteers to help create our display garden & set up our vendor booth. • We also need volunteers to work in the booth during the show. More information on who to contact about volunteering will be available at February’s meeting. • There won’t be security at the fairgrounds until Tuesday, March 3rd, so please don’t bring valuable items to the garden or vendor booth before then. • Please price your items for sale in the booth before you bring them.
Watch for emails with more details. See http://www.nashvillelawnandgardenshow.com/ for more info on this year’s show, including demonstrations & lectures, including one by our very own Jean Flippen: Saturday, March 7th @ 10:00 a.m. “Make Room for the Fairies”
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Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 25th@ 7:00pm at The Miniature Cottage, 410 E. Iris in Berry Hill (near 100 Oaks in Nashville)
Join us this month for a casual potluck dinner & a workshop on FELTED SOAP. Cherri will be supplying the soap & felting materials. All you need to bring is a bucket & some paper towels. It might get messy, but aren’t all fun projects messy? Bring your bucket & paper towels & join in the fun!
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CUMBERLAND HERB ASSOCIATION • February 2015 Newsletter
Please submit news/info by the 1st week of the month to Jessica Bach: jessica_mayo@bellsouth.net or 615-891-8735.
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In the Garden. . .
Making the world a little greener
The Sage Page with our spare thyme!
February brought ice & snow to Middle Tennessee. Will using de-icers impact your plants and shrubs? In his Chicago Tribune Q&A feature, Tim Johnson, director of horticulture for the Chicago Botanic Garden, gives helpful advice on using de-icing products around your plants or shrubs. • Be careful using de-icing products near your plants or shrubs. Most commercial brands contain salts that lower the freezing point of water but can also harm the foliage and possibly the roots of your plants. • Damage from salts happens in two ways. First is by direct contact. Salt spray or snow containing salt may damage foliage if it makes direct contact. It may cause evergreen foliage to turn yellow or brown. Secondly, repeated use of salts over several years may build up and contaminate the soil, damaging plants’ root systems. Well-draining soil may recover fairly quickly, but the effect lasts longer in clay soils. • Plants that aren’t well-maintained, for example, aren’t correctly pruned, well-fertilized or watered enough, are more prone to damage from de-icers. Don’t skip the normal summer & fall maintenance. • Applying de-icers too heavily may even damage wooden decks and concrete drives or walks; cause metal to corrode; pollute waterways; and contaminate soil. • To avoid using chemical de-icers, try clearing snow by shoveling or snow blowing or use sand or kitty litter for traction on slippery surfaces. • If you can’t avoid using de-icers, try to limit their use & closely follow the directions on the label. Read more: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-03/features/ct-sun-garden-0206-qa-snow-remove-2-20110203_1_calcium-chloride-ice-melters-salts
Spring Gardening Tips Not sure when to plant what? Just put in the last frost date for your area & this spring garden calculator will show you when to plant vegetables, herbs & flowers. Check it out at: http://awaytogarden.com/when-to-start-seeds-calculator/. Here are some helpful tips for gardening season from Paul James (host of HGTV’s “Gardening by the Yard”). • Mark inch & foot marks on the handle of garden tools using a permanent marker & ruler = handy measuring stick. • Rebar plus two clay pots = homemade hose guide. Push the rebar into the ground & slip the pots over it with the bottom one facing down & the top facing up. • Use tape to remove aphids and other small pests from plants. Pat the leaves with the sticky side to collect the pests. • Use water from boiling or steaming vegetables to water your plants & give them a nutrient boost. • Prevent seedlings from damping off by using chamomile tea. Either add to the soil or use as a spray. • Dry herbs really quickly using your car. Cover your car seat with newspaper, lay your herbs out in a single layer on the paper, and leave them in the car with the windows rolled up & doors shut. The heat dries the herbs & your car ends up smelling great, too. Read more tips at : http://www.hgtv.com/design/outdoor-design/landscaping-and-hardscaping/14-simple-gardening-tips-and-tricks
C U M B E R L A N D H E R B A S S O C I AT I O N • N A S H V I L L E , T N • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 15 N E W S L E T T E R
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Two to Try...
Making the world a little greener
The Sage Page with our spare thyme!
This month’s craft was really fun - you have to try it. I know we all need some more excuses to drink more wine!
Recycled Wine Cork Keychains I've seen cute wine cork keychains posted all over the internet lately. I needed something to do with my growing cork collection, so I decided to make some myself. It really wasn’t complicated. I found all the materials I needed at Michaels and Wal-Mart. I used mostly natural corks, but I did use a couple of synthetic ones that had cute logos. I love the wine stains - they add character!
Materials & instructions: Wine corks Key rings Jump rings
Beads Spacers 12 gauge wire
Tools: Small needle-nose pliers Ice pick
• Use the ice pick to make a hole through the center of your cork. • Cut a piece of wire 3 times the length of your cork & fold it in half. • Slide a jump ring onto the wire & then thread spacers & beads onto the doubled wire before inserting the two ends through the cork. Threading the wire through the cork & securing both ends will make your keychain sturdier. • Add more beads & spacers to the bottom of the cork - this is the creative part - dust off your jewelry making skills & have fun! • Trim any extra wire & secure the ends with the pliers. • Finish by threading a key ring onto the jump ring at the top.
The finished keychains... soon to be on sale at the L&G show!
This recipe was a flop for me, but I promised I’d give you honest feedback!
Baked ‘Hard-boiled’ Eggs
What do they say about bad cooks - they can’t even boil an egg? I consider myself a good cook, but I always have mixed results from boiling eggs. I’ve seen a lot of posts online lately for making hard-boiled eggs in the oven, so I thought I’d give it a try. Most posts raved about how easy the oven method is & how well the eggs turn out, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately my results were disappointing. The yolks were rubbery & the whites still runny. I tried microwaving them & just ended up with an eggsplosion! LOL, sometimes My baked ‘boiled’ eggs... you just have to laugh it off! Have you tried the oven method? If so, let me know how yours turned out.
Ingredients & instructions: 12 eggs Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Put 1 egg in each of 12 muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Plunge baked eggs in a large bowl filled with ice water until cooled completely, about 10 minutes.
not quite what I expected.
Have a recipe or craft for me to try? Send me your suggestions! C U M B E R L A N D H E R B A S S O C I AT I O N • N A S H V I L L E , T N • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 15 N E W S L E T T E R
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