Picking Up a New Habit
Authors:
lkonkel
Morning sunlight spills across gardens of broccoli and tomatoes. Solar panels glisten on the roof. A rooster crows in the yard as Sister Janet Weyker unceremoniously flips a pitchfork-full of wet hay on top of a pile of alpaca poop. “It’s inglorious work we do here,” she says with a chuckle.
Like most days, this June morning started with chores. Sister Janet collected eggs from the henhouse; fed the dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys, and goats; and cleaned out the alpaca corral — all before about nine o’clock, when school, civic, and church groups, as well as summer campers and families, began to arrive. Each year, Sister Janet educates more than 5,000 people through ecology-based programs at the Racine Eco Justice Center, a 15-acre working farm in southeastern Wisconsin that operates under the motto “Justice for the earth and all its inhabitants.”
In 2000 Sister Janet and others in her Dominican convent — part of the Catholic order known for its scholarly tradition — got together to discuss issues of education and social justice that were not being met in schools in Racine, a largely working-class city of 80,000 people in Wisconsin’s manufacturing corridor on the shore of Lake Michigan, 33 miles south of Milwaukee and 60 miles north of Chicago. At the time, a nearby coal-fired power plant was planning a billion-dollar expansion, which highlighted the need, in Sister Janet’s mind, for students to understand the links between their lives and the environment. Guided by more than 40 years of experience as an educator — as an art teacher, school principal, and college chaplain — she proposed creating a community center where children and adults “could spend time with nature and learn to cherish it and love it.”
For four years, Sister Janet searched for a place that could provide a hands-on learning experience and also house six nuns. Then one day she received a call from a former county official who had read about her quest in the local newspaper. He told her he had cancer and could no longer maintain his 15-acre farm; he sold the property to Sister Janet and the Dominican sisters at a fraction of its market value. The 1912 Dutch colonial farmhouse needed renovations and the old barn was falling apart. Now a geothermal system heats and cools the house, and 55 solar panels on the granary heat water and feed kilowatts back to the grid. Countertops were crafted from the floorboards of an old bowling alley and shelves from cut-up church pews. The floors in the farmhouse are red oak recycled from the mansion of a former Milwaukee sausage baron.
On this morning, three cars brimming with families of grade schoolers pull up the dirt road that leads to the center. Sister Janet, clad in knee-high muck boots, black jeans, and a baggy T-shirt, squishes through the wet hay to greet them. They’ve come to plant vegetables. Together with their parents, the children start by charting square-foot grids across raised garden beds.
Sister Janet watches as one boy digs a shallow hole for a leafy broccoli plant. “Rudy, that little baby’s going to blow right over,” she says, gently taking the spade. “Now hold that little guy like this,” she adds, placing the broccoli in his cupped hands. Dark soil crumbles between his fingertips as he examines the threadlike roots.
Rudy’s mother says they have a flower garden at home, but she brings her family here to plant their vegetables because of the sense of community Sister Janet has created. “It’s a bond that we share with other families around food. We are grateful for this experience — to see vegetables grow from the ground and even know what a chicken coop smells like. It’s so much more emotionally satisfying than buying things in packages at the supermarket,” she says as she knots a bit of nylon rope around a makeshift trellis that will soon support new tomato vines.
“Preach by what you do and how you live,” Sister Janet says, reaching for a handful of weeds. “Only use words if you need to.”
Continue here: Picking Up a New Habit
April showers bring May flowers
As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers! During the rainy month, spend time indoors planning and preparing for the gardening season. Create a dream sketch of your favorite wildflower garden. Think of the colors you would like to fill your home with, and find the right wildflower seeds to grow them. Learn about the various kinds of wild flower seeds available in the market and pick up the ones you wish to grow in your back yard. To prepare the garden, you must, first of all, remove weeds and unwanted gravel that are lying loose all around. This will enable the seeds to grow.
Once that is done, you also need to till the soil and mix soil nutrients, which will help the growth of wildflowers. You may also spray insecticides and pesticides well before planting the wildflower seeds so that they stay in the soil and do not let the weeds grow again.
Before planting the wildflower seeds, choose the flowers accordingly. Sun loving wild flowers need ample sunlight throughout the day, and thus need to be planted in sunny spots of the backyard.
The shade loving wildflowers will not survive the high temperatures and thus need to be planted in between trees or shady corners. Once the soil is ready, you may also mark designs and patterns in which you want the wildflower seeds to grow in. A few stones, marbles and even tiles at a few places will add to the design of the backyard.
Now that you have prepared the backyard for the ‘great plantation drive’, you may sit back and enjoy for a while. But, do not forget to make a list of the tilling equipments that you may require for planting the wildflowers. For once May hits, you will have all of the tools you need to start planting!
Simple Steps to Prepare for a Green Lawn and Beautiful Garden for St. Patrick’s Day
Spring is around the corner, and you can hardly wait for the sight of flowers in your garden and a green lawn to spend time in. Why not get started now and have the most beautiful garden and lawn in the neighborhood by St. Patrick’s Day. It takes only a few simple steps to ensure your garden and lawn get a healthy start this spring.
- Decide what type of flowers and grass seeds you will need. Do you want a mixture of colors or a monotone palette? What type of soil do you have and what zone are you in? Both will affect the types of plants and grass you can grow in your area.
- Once you have decided on the type of plants you need, map out your garden and lawn. Make a sketch of your yard to get the best design you can. Play with lines and colors to make it attractive.
- Do you want lawn accessories? Things like fountains, rock formations and even a simple bird bath can add interest and form to your garden.
- Clear the land. Remove any dead growth and debris from your garden and lawn. This will help give your new plants a clean start. By removing any debris you will also lessen the chances of any pathogens in the soil and deter pests.
- Inspect your garden tools. To have a beautiful garden and lawn you must have the right tools. Discard any that has been damaged with new tools.
- Decide if you will use fertilizer or compost. You can build a simple compost container in a weekend and have fresh “black gold” all summer long from kitchen and yard scraps.
- Install soaker hoses or sprinklers to keep your new garden and lawn well irrigated. There are many products on the market that are easy to install and maintain.
After you have done these simple preliminary steps, you are ready to purchase your new plants and grass seed. Consult with a garden center, or go online to find the right plants and seeds for your area. With just a bit of planning and elbow grease, you can have a spectacular garden and lawn by St. Patrick’s Day and be the envy of the neighborhood.