Posted on: Saturday, January 15, 2005
SATURDAY SCOOPS
Be a backyard recycler
Advertiser Staff
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1) The first stage in composting is to collect all trimmings and cuttings from the lawn and garden. Some items here at Foster Botanical Garden are too large to use as-is in a compost, such as tree trunks and branches, so those will be run through a machine that reduces them to chips.
Photos by Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser |
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2) Foster Botanical Garden supervisor Carlton Luka piles up organic material from lawn cuttings and trimmings.
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| 3) The compost heap is left to biodegrade and ferment, the organic material breaking down to smaller pieces. Be sure to keep your pile moist and aerated.ments of Martin Luther King Jr. |
It is easy to turn all kinds of garden waste into garden gold. Raked up leaves, branches, grass clippings and other green waste are of high value for our gardens, and we should all help keep them out of our overflowing landfills.
Organics enrich, aerate and condition our soil and help grow great gardens.
If you made compost on the Mainland or read Mainland temperate zone books and magazines, throw them out and relearn subtropical concepts. (Don't compost the magazines — glossy paper and inks do not make quality compost).
Compost and organic matter decompose rapidly in tropical conditions.
Make a compost pile or directly apply the organic matter — like monkeypod and lychee leaves, and chipped and shredded trees and branches — to mulch your trees and shrubs — and flower, vegetable and fern planting beds.
There are all kinds of composters on the market and at local garden shops, or you can make a simple pile and keep it moist and aerated (not soggy and anaerobic). Another trick learned on the North Shore: Compost within a large plastic garbage bag, with holes punched in the bottom. (Stick these in the back of your garden or hidden under a big bush.)
You can also dig a hole and bury kitchen wastes such as coffee grounds, egg shells and papaya skins. Cover the waste with at least 6 inches of soil and let the waste ripen for a month or two, then plant a tree or shrub in the hole. This system works great with fruit trees.
— By Heidi Bornhorst, Special to The Advertiser
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| Compost uses
Sprinkle it as a top dressing on your potted plants, make vegetable planter beds with the rich organic mater or repot your prized plants into your home-grown compost. As with cooking, the type and quality of ingredients in your compost recipe will determine the quality and texture of the compost. For an added boost, mix locally produced potting soil, cinder or other soil amendments to make the perfect kind of soil and soil conditioner for your Hawai'i garden. How to make compost 1. You need a balance of sources high in carbon and nitrogen. Grass clippings, for example, are high in nitrogen, and woody tree chips and shredded newspaper are high in carbon. 2. Do not put meat, bones or fats in your compost pile or composter. 3. Alternate layers of carbon and nitrogen plant sources and organic debris. 4. After the basic pile is built, lightly sprinkle it with water to moisten and activate the breakdown enzymes and beneficial bacteria. Turn and aerate the pile periodically. 5. In about a month, the compost is ready for garden use. |
Get crafty in dealing with those used gift cards
Who didn't get a gift card this season? After you've used the cards until no balance value is available, don't ditch them until you give this crafty idea a try.
The cards are sturdy and smooth, which gives them a high ranking on the crafty potential scale. Take two cards, cover them with paper or fabric and create pocket-size accordion books. They are super thin so you can slide them into a pocket or wallet and fill them with notes or pictures. If you like the concept but didn't get any cards, ask cashiers for the dead cards in their drawers.
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| Gannett News Service |
Supplies:
- 2 maxed-out gift cards
- scrapbook paper
- heavy paper such as card stock, handmade paper, watercolor paper
- embellishments (ribbon, pictures, sequins, buttons, etc.)
- adhesive of choice (glue stick, hot glue, double-sided tape)
- scissors and ruler
Directions:
Cut a piece of scrapbook paper 5 inches by 4. Lay it face down. Apply glue to one side of the card and place it in the center of the paper. Fold the edges over, as if you were wrapping a present; this will be the inside cover. Repeat for the other gift card.
Cut a piece of the heavy paper in a strip measuring 3€ by 11 inches. Apply glue to one end of the heavy paper, covering a 2-by-3-inch area. Carefully line up this area over one of the inside covers. Rub your fingers over it to secure it in place. Neatly fold the strip of paper over to meet the other edge of the paper, creating the first fold of the accordion.
Continue folding the paper until you reach the end. Repeat the gluing process and attach the back cover.
Embellish the front as desired.
— By Kathy Cano-Murillo, Arizona Republic
Jump in, catch a wave of summer surfing memories
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| Advertiser library photo |
The festivities run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with author Michael McPherson and photographers Zak Noyle, David Darling and Tim McCullough on hand to sign books, and share surf stories with old and new.
More help for tsunami victims
Bring your recyclable bottles and cans to special locations from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow, and the nickel deposits can be donated to UNICEF for Indian Ocean tsunami relief efforts.
Take the recyclables to the Woodlawn Drive entrance to Manoa Marketplace, the Kapi'olani Community College lot at the corner of 18th and Kilauea avenues, or Ward Centre at Ward and Auahi. Look to The Advertiser's Hawai'i section and Web site, www.honoluluadvertiser.com, for ongoing coverage of fund-raisers for tsunami victims.
Also, from noon to 4 p.m tomorrow, the American Red Cross and Castle Medical Center are hosting a rummage sale and silent auction to benefit tsunami victims. Call 263-5400 to learn more.
A celebration of all things Korean
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For more information, call 275-3011.
Tickets go on sale for 'Lord of the Dance'
Tickets to Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance," the production that put Irish footwork and Celtic melodies on the map, will go on sale at 9 a.m. today at the Blaisdell box office. The production, featuring a company of 40-plus, will play April 29-May 8 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Tickets are $44 to $54, also available at Ticketmaster locations. Call (877) 750-4400, or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Weekend events celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day
"I have a dream."
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| Concerts, parades and other events through Monday will celebrate the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr
Advertiser library photo |
• Enjoy a concert with music from various cultures during "Lift Every Voice and Sing" at 6 p.m. today at the Mission Memorial Auditorium, Civic Center grounds. The event is free, but any donations will go to the American Red Cross for Tsunami Relief. Jan Shima, who was nominated for a Hoku award for contemporary gospel, will be among the performers.
• Tomorrow, Chaminade University is hosting an MLK Celebration with gospel music, spirituals and music by black composers combining with King's message. Concert saxophonist Willie Morris from the University of Dayton performs, along with the Chaminade University Chorus and Hawai'i Vocal Arts Ensemble. Chaminade professor and poet Allison Francis also presents poetry. The free event starts at 4 p.m. at the Mystical Rose Oratory. Call 735-4816 for more information.
• Also tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., a candlelight bell-ringing ceremony will be held as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday events at Nagasaki Peace Bell, Civic Center Grounds. The Royal Hawaiian Band will be on hand to play selections from Queen Lili'uo-kalani's works.
• Monday, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition-Hawai'i sponsors a holiday parade through Waikiki. The 9 a.m. parade begins at Ala Moana Beach Park, down Kalakaua Avenue and ending at Kapi'olani Park. The parade includes bands, floats, unions, community groups and political organizations. Following the parade, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., there will be a Unity Rally with food, entertainment, crafts and keiki games.
To find out more about Martin Luther King Day events in Hawai'i, see www.mlk-hawaii.org.
