Make your own biodegradable Newspaper Pots for Seed Starting #GardenCuizine #GoGreen @SNAP_Ed

Do It Yourself Video
for making Newspaper Pots 

for Seed Starting

Last week I was sorry to miss a guest speaker at the Family Success Center of Vinelands Eat Clean and Green Event. Susan McKenna from NJ SNAP-Ed Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cumberland County taught families how to make their own newspaper pots to start seeds in. I've been gardening for years, but never tried to make my own FREE biodegradable pot until today. 

Gardening objects of any kind always catch my attention. As I walked to my office within Family Success, there leaning against the Program Coordinators door, was a tray of leftover newspaper pots from their class. She kindly gave me a few to take home to try and figure out how they were made. Before I took them apart I Googled the topic and came across this video.

After watching the video I could tell that this was just what I was looking for: directions on how to make newspaper pots for seeds. The best part about these newspaper pots is that they do not require using any tape or staples to hold them together. You definitely do not want staples in your garden dirt!

When I watched the video a second time, I paused it at the beginning when he tells the dimensions. The square pots are about 2 3/4-inches wide and 3-inches deep, exactly the size of my samples.
 
Now came the time to try making one myself. I got a few pieces of our local Burlington County Times newspaper and cut it in half following the video. The nice part is that you can pause it along the way as needed while following along with his directions.  ...Then sure enough, as mom would say when it was finished, "Ta-da!" My first newspaper pot was finito.

The pots can now be filled with dirt and seeds. And, when Mother's Day comes, the danger of frost will be gone and the whole pot with the seedlings can be planted directly into the garden or wherever the plants are desired to go.

Gardening Kids
Kids and families are guaranteed to enjoy this fun garden project.

Happy Gardening!
Blogpost and photo Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Whole grain Job's Tears | fascinating natural bead for jewelry #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Job's Tears

The Most Fascinating Plant 

in Our Garden

Adults and children find Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) a fascinating plant. The seeds are large and easily planted by children, making Job's Tears a good selection in a Children's Garden. Botanically and as a natural food source, Job's Tears is a member of the family Poaceae (grass family) and is considered a gluten-free, whole grain. 

We grow Job's Tears in pots on a sunny porch. To me, the tall green blades look similar to lemon grass. By the end of the summer at around this time (early September), perfectly round bead seeds emerge like magic.  

The seeds develop a hard outer shell and are much too difficult to hull the quantity needed for use as a whole grain. Hulled Job's Tears (hato mugi) grain can be found in Korean specialty markets.  

When left on the plant to mature, green seeds the size of canna seeds - about 1/4-inch in diameter - eventually turn darker in color. Homegrown seeds can then be picked, dried and saved to grow more plants the following season or used as actual beads in jewelry making.

Over 30,000 people have read my article on Dave's Gardens!

Check it out ~ Includes photos of handmade Jewelry
Job's Tears, A Fascinating Plant

Photo Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Nutrition Education and Art Activity for National Nutrition Month

Nutrition Education and Art Activity

for National Nutrition Month

     The American Dietetic Association presents National Nutrition Month every March to increase awareness on the importance of eating right. This year's 'Eat Right with Color' theme focuses on eating from a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables to reap the health benefits of important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Eating colorful fruits and vegetables provides your body with a variety of nutrients that helps in maintaining a healthy body weight and reduces the risk of diet-related chronic diseases. This GardenCuizine^TM nutrition month project is fun for all ages, especially seniors and children. 

Teaching Nutrition Lesson

• Prepare a short introduction and nutrition education lesson plan
• Design 3 or more masters for coloring pages using simple outlines of fruits and vegetables; include a line for the individual to sign their name; you may wish to include the name of the facility or school
• Make several copies of each master coloring page according to how many participants you expect to attend
• Art supplies may include, but are not limited to: paint brushes, containers to hold the paint brushes (fill a few of the containers with a little bit of water to dip the brushes), cutting board, chefs knife, artist painter pallet's, red cabbage, plastic baggies, paper plates, napkins
• Fruit and vegetable snack such as oranges and baby carrots
• For coloring: fresh radish bunches, fresh spinach leaves, dried turmeric powder, beet powder and Açai fruit powder 
• Wash all the produce and allow to dry before using
• Sprinkle a few pinches of the dry powders in the pallets divided evenly among the group
• Slice the oranges into wedges and explain they are for snacking. I tried using oranges for coloring and the pigments don't rub off easy - they are best used as a snack. 
• Divide the produce evenly among the paper plates (several participants can share a plate)

Activity Highlights

• Talk about your sample foods and their nutrients
• Highlight a few of the antioxidant pigments found in the foods such as: beta carotene and lycopene
• Keep coming back to the main points: 

Different color foods contain different nutrients, which is why it is important to eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables every day. 

 
Eating from a variety of colorful fruits reduces the risk of diet-related chronic diseases.

Eating from a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables helps people of all ages maintain a healthy body weight.

 

• Thinly slice the red cabbage in front of your audience. Place 1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon of water in each baggie. Do as many baggies as you desire. Seal them tight and pass around for volunteers to gently squish and squeeze. As they are squeezing, explain that anthocyanin pigments are what make the water color purple. Snip a small piece of the edge of the baggie and allow the nutrient-rich purple liquid to drip out into a clear container. Show this around the room so everyone can get a close-up look.

Coloring with Natural Plant Pigments

• Have the participants stack up several spinach leaves and roll them into a tight "paint brush". The natural green chlorophyll pigments will rub off when rubbed on the coloring page. Participants can experiment using radish greens too.
• Fresh radishes can be picked off the greens and hand held like a crayon and used to color, the natural red pigments will rub off onto the coloring sheet.
• Brushes can be dipped in water and mixed with the powdered fruits and veggies to make a natural pigment watercolor. Avoid using too much water or the color will be too weak.

Experiment and Have Fun!

Thank you to my Dietetic Internship director: Maria Basche, MS, RD South Jersey Healthcare for making this opportunity possible for me and to my preceptor: Diane Griffith, MS, RD and the staff and residents at Cumberland Manor Nursing Home

Related Links
Eating Fruits and Vegetables: Why Color Matters  
The Cook's Garden Nutrition
What Color is Your Food?
Blog Article and Photographs Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.

Make a Hot Pepper Ristra for Good Luck!

Chile Pepper Ristra
Ideal for air drying Hot Peppers

Mexican folklore says that hanging a Ristra on your door or in your home brings good luck! As you harvest your hot peppers, now is a good time to think about stringing together those with thin skins into a Mexican 'Ristra' to air dry. You can easily do this with a large needle and thread to connect the peppers. They can simply hang together in a long line, or the ends can be attached to form a wreath shape.
There are many ways to preserve your pepper harvest besides Ristras. Peppers can be preserved by pickling, made into hot sauce, jelly, canned or blanched and frozen. However, one of the simplest ways is to air dry hot peppers in a Ristra.

Air Drying
Air drying is an easy way to dry hot peppers, especially if they have thin skins. Pequin, a tiny, round Chiltepin (Capisicum annum var. aviculare, 'bird pepper') hot pepper, is one of my absolute favorites. Chiltepin's don't even need to be strung on a Ristra though, they can simply air dry on a plate or sheet pan. My favorite Rista peppers are usually long, thin cayenne or Thai peppers. Remember, thin skinned peppers work the best for air drying.
Pepper Skins, thin or thick?
If your peppers have thick skins such as Tomato Grower's large red thick cayenne or any brand Jalapeno pepper, they will not work well in a Ristra. After several days, the moisture trapped within thick skinned peppers will contribute to mold inside the peppers, making them unsuitable for culinary use. I find many hybrids have skins too thick to air dry, even if I poke a few pin holes in them. They are all different though; for example, Burpee's long thin slim red cayenne peppers dry well, and so does Tomato Grower's Kung Pao hybrid. Both have thin walls for easy drying on a Ristra.

• Please post a comment if you have a favorite pepper that works well for Ristra air drying

If your peppers are thick skinned, one way to avoid mold forming inside the peppers is to cut them in half lengthwise using culinary shears. This will permit optimal air circulation. Allow the pile of cut peppers to dry on a large plate or sheet pan and stir them around every few days. When they are thoroughly dry, they can be stored in airtight containers. Obviously, after the peppers are cut in half they can't be used in a Ristra, but they will still be a tasty seasoning for your foods throughout the year.
If your not sure if your peppers have thin or thick skins, let a few air dry on a plate for a week or two then cut one open, if it appears moldy inside, discard the moldy ones and from then on your best bet is to start cutting that variety open to air dry, and preserve them by another means.

Ristra Home Decor
In addition to being useful and functional, Ristras store dried peppers in an artistic, decorative way that looks great hanging in your home. Ristras make appreciated and thoughtful gifts from your garden too. Store bought Ristras, unless stated otherwise, may have been shellacked or varnished and should not be used for culinary purposes. For the safest and best Ristra, make your own!
Ristra Strings
The Ristra is just a bunch of hot peppers attached together by a thread, string, or fish line. I use a large needle and thread and simply string the needle with the thread, making a knot at the beginning (and again at the end). Then string together the peppers, pushing them together to close up any gaps.

• Ristras can be all sizes and shapes. I tend to use the simplest method and allow them to hang straight down, but as I mentioned you can connect the ends and make a wreath too.
• Ristras can hang to dry outside under an overhang, from a pot rack in your kitchen, or in any dry area.

Don't leave your Ristra hanging forever!
Ristras look great hanging in the kitchen; however,don't get too attached and let it hang up there for years to collect dust. Especially since the peppers are the real deal and not fake. A good rule of thumb is to use the peppers as you need them throughout the off season, and then before the new harvest, take what is left down and store the leftover peppers in an airtight container.

Related Links
Chile Ristras Brighten Border Homes by Doug Perez and Martha A. Sandoval, El Paso Community College
Cluster Braid and Red Chile Sauce Recipe by Priscilla Grijalva, New Mexico State University Extension

Copyright © 2009 Wind. All rights reserved.