You think we have problems with dust?

Before focusing on urban habitat-building, why not take a moment to consider what environment really means to everyday life. Every perspective is different depending on your environment. What you can eat and where you are able to sleep, is ultimately determined by your environment.
What happens in a desert with few trees to use for building?
To consider the other living beings that inhabit the world around us, and how we affect them, leads us to significant conclusions. We are responsible citizens of the world if we take time to consider other perspectives. But ultimately, our environment, the nature around us, has the final say. Without judgement, we can consider the power of nature, with one simple picture.

Find the original picture posted by a Peace Corps representative in Niger. http://jmkincaid.blogspot.com/

moonwatch.

In touch with your lunar side? Keep an eye on the moon for signs of mushrooms and maniac behavior with the new phase calendar on the blog home page... www.gardenersguild.blogspot.com

In case of inclement weather:

Seems impossible doesn't it?
There is still time for Winterizing -- What is it and what to do?
While we all know winter is coming, the recommendation to 'winterize' is short on details. For those who haven't grown up gardening, the term can be downright mystifying. Here is a list of those tasks to undertake while temperatures cool down, and plants begin to sleep.
#1. Keep watering! Root systems are still growing, and developing additional reach for the winter and following years. Many plants love the fall temperatures for the rest it provides, following the summer scorch. The stress of growing is reduced when conditions are moderate, and plants will fair well with a good watering every week until daily temperatures fall regularly below 60 or 65 degrees. A good watering at least once a month through the winter is also very important for perennials and trees, especially with a dry season predicted.
2. Rake it up. Look for piles of debris that invite insects to hunker down in your yard for the winter. Dry areas with good oxygen will make for unwanted homes to pests that emerge next spring. Lawn clippings, disturbed dried leaves and other organic matter can be good mulch, but don't 'pile' it on. Best idea is to compost these materials first and use it after compost worms have processed it into fertilizer. Rake out those remaining weeds.
3. Remove the dead. This includes 'dead heading' (removal of dead flower heads) of spent blooms from perennials to pare back plants for the lean and mean season. Roses can be pruned for shape and size, but must be pruned to prevent winter damage. For trees, prune dead branches only. Pruning living ones may stimulate growth at the worst time, exposing the tree to freezing temps. Removing the dead wood will foil another favorite living space for bad bugs. Spent foliage from bulbs can be removed, especially if brown, as the leaves have already given their remaining energy as fuel for next year.
4. Amend the soil. Add a low-cost or free manure to the soil to mature (compost) over winter. Some also recommend a high phosphorus fertilizer, like soft rock phosphate (SRF), an element less available to plants in very dry soils. Addition of phosphorus helps the plant's immune system, in photosynthesis, and nitrogen transport to plants. Remember, effectiveness of fertilizers does depend on the plants ability to find it small enough to absorb from soil. SRF can rejuvenate the soil with major minerals like calcium, and trace minerals if decomposition is happening. Use it sparingly in depleted (most of Albuquerque) soil: more is not usually better! As an aside, some say high levels of phosphorus can also deter weeds.
5. Condition the soil, with less labor. Layer mulch over your worst soil this winter with your favorites: manure, straw, other compost, pecan shells, etc! Three layers is recommended, and at least 3" thick each, for sheet mulching which returns life to soil in no time! Shovel it on and wait 'til spring to speed recovery of troubled soil. IMPORTANT NOTE - Be sure to keep layers away from woody plant stems and tree trunks to prevent rotting spots. See the mulch article at www.gardenersguild.org/mulch.htm to get more details.

SUPPLIES FOR WINTERIZING can be found at GG:
Burlap sacks are available, thanks to one of our Advocate members (that's you, Matt). They are great for wrapping trees, planted recently or a little more freeze-prone. Wrapping fruit trees can also be good if they have western or southern exposure -- email Gardeners'Guild for details if this might be causing issues for your struggling fruit trees.
Only a handful of hay bales are still available for mulch -- good insulation, composts well, few seeds, high in nutrients! This will be our last scheduled delivery of hay bales, so get them while they last! Find shovels, mulch sources and more details at GG, too.

Blue skies of November...

weird, warm weather.

Well, melting of the Northwest Passage has made this mythological throughway an economic and environmental reality.
At least 10 years sooner than expected, open waters in the Artic have Russians planting their flag on the sea bottom floor. That's only the beginning. The first question coming to mind as footage plays on international news: "When did that happen?" Strangely enough, scientists were stunned about the accelerated conditions as long ago as October of 2006.
Canada must be excited about this. Finally, the moderate and kind have arrived on top -- they've been rewarded with one of the most valuable shipping routes on the globe. And with weather warming next year, too, maybe there's an opportunity for vacation cottages. Deputy Minister of the Environment to Canada's newest province, Nunavut, sees another upside. Warming trends will provide longer boating seasons and reduced energy consumption with rising temperatures.

Here are some other facts from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies:
"Global warming is now 0.6°C in the past three decades and 0.8°C in the past century. It is no longer correct to say that "most global warming occurred before 1940". More specifically, there was slow global warming, with large fluctuations, over the century up to 1975 and subsequent rapid warming of almost 0.2°C per decade."

Indeed the earth has warmed and cooled significantly over the last thousands and millions of years. Maybe we won't shrivel into a raisin tomorrow, or bake like a potatoes next year. But there is something awfully persuasive about clean air, clean water and, darn it. If we can reduce the damage done to the environment, ourselves, and the other living creations on this big blue marble, why not take a shot.

Why did the cow jump over the moon?

It's not a surprise that many urban gardeners have forgotten, or never learned about, the moon's power. The ol' wax 'n' wane...
It guides the earth's tides, and sprouts mushrooms. The moon affects all liquids on earth. With over 70% of the human body composed of water, there's no escaping a little slish-slosh.

Most other cultures do have important celebrations scheduled by phases of the moon. The Old Farmers' Almanac has that kind of information. And lots of other curiosities and tidbits. Tidbit Numero Uno: Plant by the moon when the water table is high, for healthiest plants!

It's not just folklore, it's nature. It's the way the real world works.
So it won't be a surprise that every moon has a name, not just a few. October (in most cases) is the month of Hunter's Moon, and is called such for obvious reasons - it's the moon you hunt by. Examples of other lesser known moons? Wolf Moon due to hungry wolves gathering (January), Snow or Full Hunger Moon (February), Worm Moon in March and the Corn and Hay Moons too. Maybe city gardeners could consecrate the moon with contemporary names?

For your reference, here are dates for the last full and new moons of 2007: October 26, November 24 and December 23. Should make for beautiful holiday nights.

Consider it next time your being romanced by that big heavenly body, the moon.