Class with a purpose! The Ecology Center hosted a class at the Center for Living Peace this last weekend on, “How to Make your Own Cleaning Supplies.” What was funny is that we all ended up sharing stories and secrets about what has worked best for us more then the actual making of supplies. Regardless, we had a great time full of fun, community and great purpose. We have pledged to make our homes both clean and safe!
Thank you to all who joined us. Here are a few links that we touched on.
Fresh squeeze orange juice was served up cold this weekend here at The Ecology Center. Our Eagle Scout, Connor Howe is raising money to help redo our container garden in the courtyard as his current scout project. If you missed it, don’t be too concerned, Connor has promised to leave us more for this coming weekend. So come down, get your weekend juice fix and donate to his great cause (and ours too, of course).
Thank you Connor for all of your time and dedication!
Weekend Events for March 10th and 11th :
Tools for Change will be open from 11-3pm
FREE Bee Talk and Honey Tasting Sat. 1-3. Reserve your spot though!
Diane Wyzga was kind enough to answer a few questions before hosting our upcoming Tools of the Trade workshop on March 10th. Here is just a little taste of what’s to come…
How long have you been interested in beekeeping and what prompted you to start?
I actually took a class at the University of Minnesota when I was younger. However it wasn’t until 2003, I actually started beekeeping. A swarm had colonized in my neighbor’s 6ft wooden fence. Intrigued, I spent a whole day with a beekeeper rescuing the hives and the bees. We had to cut out the comb, attach it to the frames and put it into the hive boxes. That was all pretty easy but rounding up the 100,000 bees was the tricky part! We used a smoker, a dust brush and a bread pan to get a lot of them. However, once we got the queen, her pheromones attracted the rest of the workers into the new hive.
What is the best thing about keeping bees for you?
It is so Zen! Just last week, I saw the queen return from a mating flight back to one of the hives. There was something so magical about seeing her return to her children. Where did she go, how far did she travel, what did she see? It is magical, zen, unimaginable really. It is all of those things and so rewarding knowing I am helping the environment in the process.
What benefits do we get from honey and what should we look for when we buy honey?
Honey is simply a whole food. The obvious is that it’s sweet and tastes great but honey also acts as an antiseptic treating cuts and burns and it can be used as a detox as well. What you need to be careful about is the process in which your honey was obtained, know whether it was treated and know the integrity of your source. Ideally, you want untreated, unheated, gravity strained, local honey with no pollination servicing. I know that is a lot and we will go more in depth on these terms in our workshop.
Okay, the dumb question. Do you get stung often?
Yes! It is the badge of honor to beekeeping! Did you know though that only 1% of America is actually allergic. Most people just have a reaction where it swells and turns red, like a mosquito bite. The trick…scrape the stinger with your nail or a credit card, wash it with soap and warm water, ice it and then make a little paste of baking soda and water and apply it to the sting. If you don’t have the baking soda, honey will work too!
Bees have no interest in stinging you. In fact, they must have felt pretty threatened to give up their life as when they sting you, they die. If a honeybee is flying around you, it is just checking you out. Walk away or stand still. Don’t swat or they will get defensive and don’t blow, they hate carbon dioxide.
If someone was interested in becoming a beekeeper, what information would you give them before they start?
I suppose, I would want to ask their intent. Where do you want to keep them? Is that okay in your neigborhood and in your community? What purpose do you want for your bees and is it for honey or to pollenate your garden and your neighbors garden? All in all, know your intent and then do your research. My favorite resource would be this amazing video taken of a Bon Terra observation hive. I would actually, really encourage anyone planning to come to watch it before hand and also read this article on store bought honey.
So that is it for now, but be sure to join us March 10th at 1pm for our FREE Tools of the Trade workshop with Diane Wyzga. Diane will not only teach us the basics of beekeeping “A to BEE” but will wrap up with an incredible tasting where she will walk us through wonderful varieties of organic honey.
This event is FREE, so reserve your spot quick!
Another great documentary to watch: The Vanishing of the Bees and the Queen of the Sun.
I cringe confessing to my addiction for a particular clear pretty blue cleaning product we all know for at least our windows if not more. I will admit I enjoy the smell, the color and the simple idea that anything it touches is clean. To make it even worse, I feel extra guilty as I am preparing for a Backyard Skills workshop on “Making Your Own Sustainable Cleaning Supplies,” I will be teaching at the Center for Living Peace on Saturday, March 3rd.
Buy blue or not? That is the question. Have any of you seen the “Greenlist“ label on your some of your commercial cleaning products? I have to say, I felt less guilt ridden as I sprayed, thinking for a moment that some of our big leaders in consumer products were taking a stand; using less toxic ingredients. They were making great efforts towards being more responsible, environmentally speaking. With that, I do believe we need to commend those who are taking steps in the right direction and especially give credit to those leaping. The catch is this however, leaps and steps are great, but the actual walk is better.
Regarding cleaning products, the walk is not hard either! We have all of the tools for easy and safe cleaning right under our nose. Lemons, olive oil and vinegar are just a few, but add baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and the most basics of soap, castile and you have just about all you need to clean, dust, wash and make your home sparkle. Yes, I miss the blue and maybe the smell too, but this is better for everyone and even better on my pocketbook.
Given my confessions, I hope you will honor my efforts to make a pledge (no pun intended) to “Walk the Walk.” I will give up my blue bottled friend and start to love the simple things of nature that are not only great for those living in my very own home, but the earth I live on.
All things said, I hope you will join me for my class at the Center For Living Peace in Irvine, as I will be hosting a workshop on “How to Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies.” There may not be anything blue, but I promise you, your house will still be squeaky clean and you will rest in knowing you are keeping those around you safe and sound.
Sarah Fisher
Community Program Director
Sign up for “How to Make your own Sustainable Cleaning Supplies”
March 3rd, 1-3pm at the Center For Living Peace
4139 Campus Drive Irvine, CA 92612
For more reading:
http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/01/19/is-windex-greener-with-greenlist/
http://www.scjohnson.com/en/commitment/focus-on.aspx
Photo taken from:
http://www.southernliving.com
The Ecology Center and Yoga Works are teaming-up to bring you a series of Free collaborative workshops. From Yoga classes on an organic farm to garden basics in a yoga studio, we invite you to join us for one or all of our upcoming offerings.
The Ecology Center
32701 Alpaz, San Juan Capistrano
February 25th at 4pm
Yoga with Renee Chenette
March 24th 4pm
Yoga with Tim Senesi
April 22nd at 4pm
Yoga and Potluck with LB Iddings
Yoga Works
30818 Pacific Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach
February 27th at 5pm
Sprouting/ Kitchen Garden Basics with Evan Marks
March 19th at 5pm
Organic Gardening 101 with Evan Marks
All Events are FREE
Calling all Ages, Young and Old! Join us this Saturday, February 25th at 1pm for Tools of the Trade at The Ecology Center for an hour of nature stories designed to enthrall, educate, and entertain you and your family. Free Event
Diane Wyzga, our resident beekeeper, is also professional storyteller. Diane has been telling stories since 1997; unless you count her childhood years. Her parents said she was fibbing, but she says she was perfecting her craft.
The third and maybe the most gratifying in my opinion is to simply plant a new bare-root fruit tree this winter. Your new tree will use the winter dormant season to establish new roots and when the spring arrives, your tree will be on its way to providing an abundance of fruit and shade. Expect a first crop two to three years after planting but know that before then, it will give you something picturesque in the spring and shade in the summer. Taken and simplified from a Sacramento News source, the Sacramento Bee, a few great basics to planting are given as follows:
• Before planting, soak the tree’s bare roots in water several hours or overnight. That helps rehydrate them.
• Prepare the planting hole and the surrounding ground. Roots can’t grow in compacted soil. So dig a hole twice as wide
• Trim off any damaged roots before planting.
• After positioning the tree, use the same dirt to refill the hole halfway and firm gently, squeezing out any air pockets
• Lay the shovel handle (or other long straight edge) across the top of the hole to check the tree’s depth. You don’t want to plant it too deep. Once the hole is filled, the soil should slope gently away from the trunk so water can’t collect at the base (which can rot the crown).
• Finish filling the hole, gently firming the soil around the roots. The top roots will be just below the surface of the soil.
• Water deeply. Water once or twice a week (less if it rains) until the tree is well established.
• Wait until new growth is several inches long before applying any fertilizer.
• Keep the area around the new tree weeded. Don’t plant anything else under the sapling; that undergrowth will compete for water and nutrients. Use mulch to maintain soil moisture for the new roots, but keep it 2 to 3 inches away from the trunk.
Your winter checklist is complete. Prune, fertilize and plant a new tree this month. Rearing up for the summer months gets us back into the soil to get a little dirty and most certainly closer to nature. It won’t be long until we will be relying on our trees for a cool place to rest. Until then, get outside and take care of your trees.
To learn more, sign up for our Backyard Skills: Fruit Tree Pruning and Grafting workshop tomorrow, Saturday, February 18th, from 1-3pm. You’ll learn the basic principles of fruit tree grafting, pruning, and care with our local fruit tree expert Doug Hibbard. We hope to see you there!
$10 members, $15 non-members + $10 material fee (includes a grafted apple tree to take home)
Resources:
http://www.greenback.com.sg/product/organic-and-chemical/
http://www.idiggreenacres.com/
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/03/4088065/winter-is-ideal-time-to-buy-plant.html
The second way we can take care of our trees in the winter is to fertilize and to fertilize right. Depending on the variety, the soil beneath it, and where you live, how and what you fertilize with will need to be determined. The general consensus is this: Fertilize fruit in the fall or winter, before they go into dormancy and can’t absorb the nutrients. In addition, check with a local nursery or another knowledgeable source if you need more information.
More importantly however than to just fertilize, is to organically fertilize. Yes, chemical fertilizers may in fact seem to have its benefits giving us quicker results with specially formulated blends that can balance our soil to an exact science, but in turn we are left with the dangers of over-concentration or over-dosage of nutrients. In addition, chemical fertilizers are generally not as biodegradable allowing chemical fertilizers to release harmful chemicals that end up contaminating our land and bodies of water. Organic fertilizer gives us long-term effects and allows us to stay in character, leaving less of an environmental footprint.
Summing up, slow is good! Slow and consistent absorption at a sustained natural rate allows for the plant or tree to adjust properly. Microorganisms works on the organic fertilizer, breaks it up, release the nutrients and ensures long-term fertility in the soil.
To learn more, sign up for our Backyard Skills: Fruit Tree Pruning and Grafting workshop on Saturday, February 18th, from 1-3pm. You’ll learn the basic principles of fruit tree grafting, pruning, and care with our local fruit tree expert Doug Hibbard. We hope to see you there!
$10 members, $15 non-members + $10 material fee (includes a grafted apple tree to take home)
Resources:
http://www.greenback.com.sg/product/organic-and-chemical/
http://www.idiggreenacres.com/
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/03/4088065/winter-is-ideal-time-to-buy-plant.html
Our trees stand stark, cold and appear to look gloomy in the winter months. Awaiting the spring sun, those bare trees hopefully will explode with color and fruit once again. Lonely as they look however, they actually really need tending to now. Winter care ensures not only a good crop of fruit the following season, but our care now will promote good health and longevity to our ever-giving fruit trees for years to come. As for what exactly you can do for your dormant friends outside, three basic things come to mind for winter care: pruning, fertilizing and planting.
Pruning may seem like something that would be optional if the tree appears healthy enough, but in fact, pruning in the winter months may be the only reason your trees will bring you full, tasty, perfectly shaped, beautiful colored fruit. Without pruning you leave your trees vulnerable to infestation or rot. In addition, the tree most likely will be less productive, congested with old branches.
Before starting off, it is important to keep these few Pruning Principles taken from Lewis Hill’s book “Pruning Made Easy” in mind:
-Train the young tree to grow in a spreading shape
-Keep in mind an image of the mature tree as you clip or snip off the buds or tiny twigs. Aim to develop a strong tree with a branch structure sturdy enough to hold up the crop.
-Prune in accordance with the tree’s natural growth habit
-Thin! Keep the branches sparse enough for fruit to get enough sunlight to ripen.
To learn more, sign up for our Backyard Skills: Fruit Tree Pruning and Grafting workshop on Saturday, February 18th, from 1-3pm. You’ll learn the basic principles of fruit tree grafting, pruning, and care with our local fruit tree expert Doug Hibbard. We hope to see you there!
$10 members, $15 non-members + $10 material fee (includes a grafted apple tree to take home)
Resources:
http://www.greenback.com.sg/product/organic-and-chemical/
http://www.idiggreenacres.com/
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/03/4088065/winter-is-ideal-time-to-buy-plant.html
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