FarmTina

Gardening Without Water?

Welcome to the first growing season here at Farmtina³, my brand new apartment with a brand new concrete alley "yard". Yes, this is the third apartment where I've been on this gardening adventure. And like I have with every new space, I'm discovering new problems-- no, wait-- new challenges to be conquered. Challenge Number One:

I do not have access to water in my new gardening space.

There is no outdoor water supply for watering my plants, which is sort of a big issue. I know how to get around having no soil, and even no sun, but no water? Doesn't work!

So I'm researching rain barrels. A rain barrel is just what it sounds like: a container that catches rain water and stores it to be used to water your plants.

But, oh! A rain barrel is more than just a bucket of water! It needs to be sealed off enough so you don't lose water to evaporation and don't become a mosquito breeding ground, yet open enough to actually catch the rain. It needs to have a hose connection to make it functional for watering plants. And it has to be durable so it won't rust and my friends the NYC rats don't chew through it to get to the water on hot days.

Even if you do have access to water in your garden, you might want to consider supplementing it with a rain barrel. Here are a few benefits:

5 Things That Are Sprouting In My Garden Right Now

Hey dudes, sorry about my gloomy post yesterday! To get you excited for spring in my new Bushwick back yard, here's a peek at what's already sprouting.

1. My favorite of the flowers I grow, my hydrangeas, are growing nice and green in their plastic containers:

Check in! Photos!

It's been a cool, rainy month here in Brooklyn NYC, but that hasn't put a damper (get it-- DAMPer) on my outdoor activities. Here's a quick check-in on the state of my yard. I promise, more detailed info and photos to come!

What's Blooming Right Now?

Here's a quick update to let you know what's started blooming in my yard. The last few weeks have been very rainy, windy and cold here in NYC, so I haven't actively started gardening outside yet. However, many perennials are coming to life on their own-- check it out!

Hydrangeas (I wonder what color they'll turn out this year?)

Blueberry (I need to get a second one for pollination, last year my second blueberry plant was killed in the tornado)

Blue Salvia

Chives (I'm growing these indoors, too, to see if it works!)

Strawberry

Apple Tree! Apple blossoms!

Is anything blooming in your garden yet?

Is Earth Day Legit?

So. Everybody is all a-buzz about Earth Day today.

Maybe it's the fact that I work in marketing so I know the tricks, or just that I'm skeptical of anything generating buzz online, but my first thought when I heard the morning Earth Day stories on the radio today was this: Is this holiday actually legit or is it just another fake holiday meant to push sales- in this case, sales of greenwashed products, crappy women's magazine stories about "going green", and events where they serve green-colored cocktails?

Luckily, my coworker Andrew had all the answers. Andrew Rozas developed a youth outreach campaign for Earth Day 2010, a mass gathering in Washington, D.C. to celebrate our world, educate the public, and raise awareness for current environmental issues. Andrew told me that, yes, Earth Day actually is a legitimate grassroots holiday that has gained momentum over the years and become a world-wide celebration, and yes, it is a positive and educational movement. (And by the way ladies, Andrew is single and he's a cutie.)

The first Earth Day was meant to be an environmental education "teach-in" in April of 1970, and through strong activism and networking, it ended up drawing participants in 2,000 colleges and universities, plus communities and schools around the country. It is estimated that 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day!

A demonstration during the first Earth Day, 1970

Something that I found very interesting-- Earth Day founder Senator Nelson has stated that the first Earth Day was directly responsible for persuading U.S. politicians that environmental issues were important to the people of this country, and therefore would be an important thing for the government to act on.

If you're stuck in your cubicle today and want to find a way to contribute to Earth Day, download the E4RTH mixtape from WeAreE4RTH.com. Every download donates 10 cents to the Earth Day Network. And if you want to check out Earth from an outsider's point of view, NASA is tweeting Earth images all day.

So what have you been doing to inspire Earth-love today?

My Spring Flower Bulbs are Sprouting!

It's official: my Spring bulbs are sprouting! This is the view from my living room out into the backyard, and you can see my outdoor windowbox flower bulbs are finally making an appearance. This is just the motivation I need to start cleaning out the yard and setting up for the season.

Spring bulbs are like a little gift that you can give yourself to help you out of your winter rut. They can usually be purchased anywhere you would buy your seeds, and should be planted in the Fall after the weather has cooled down but before the soil is frozen solid. The bulbs actually require a cold hibernation period before they can sprout, and when the weather starts to warm up, the bulbs are stimulated to grow. Perennial bulbs will come back every year, so I have them permanently living in the same windowboxes where I rotate my annuals.

So where do the original bulbs come from?