Recycling...... New Beginnings Birdhouse

by Patty Lattanzio 

Now that winter is upon us, our thoughts often turn to holidays, vibrant seed catalogs, and resolutions for the New Year.  What better way to bring in a New Year than creating a haven for the spring nesting season with a birdhouse made from recycled parts!   Old windows have many stories to tell and their charm can live on in the gift of shelter for our feathered friends.  Pallet wood, often abundant and underused, can be recycled, too, into functioning artistic projects to support wildlife.  While making a birdhouse from recycled materials does require some skill in planning, measuring, cutting, and using power tools, it is not beyond the scope of the resourcefulness of  Master Gardeners. 

My purple martin birdhouse didn't start out as a birdhouse at all.  It started with a problem and found its way as a solution.  The problem was that I needed immediate privacy from a neighbor's direct line of view from a kitchen window into my home (after all of their trees and shrubs had been cut down).  The thought of removing my deciduous trees to plant an evergreen screen did not sit well, along with permanently closed curtains, privacy fencing, hanging bedsheets, etc.  The solution was blocking the line of sight from just the correct height and width from an object that would not be intrusive, but seemed to be there with a purpose.  Alas, a large martin birdhouse mounted to a pole was the solution!   

After some physics, sketches, and ideas on paper, I constructed a rough plan to undertake the project.  The old windows that were used served as the front and back sides of the birdhouse.  They came from a 200 year-old stone farmhouse near Collegeville, PA and the owner wanted them re-purposed.  I said that I had a plan!  The windows' copper stripping was reused as roof edging, the metal strips were used as edge guards, old nails and screws found rejuvenated purpose, metal bars were used as interior supports, and new life was hammered and drilled into historic salvage.  The sides and bottom of the birdhouse came from discarded wood cuts at my local home improvement store (with permission). The roof was made from old pallets just waiting for rebirth.  Some caulk, exterior old paint and stain pulled together the finished project.  Flea market finds of art deco metal added a finishing touch as exterior decor. 

From old things, there are often new beginnings.  Whether it is old windows, pallet wood, or dusty old metal pieces, there is purpose to what we find in hidden treasures.  As we dream and plan about the tomorrows in our lives, find inspiration in where you have been and where you seek to go. Don't forget the little things of the past, whether trinkets or old windows, because their story, too, can bring new beginnings to the natural beauty around us.

PS:  While purple martins are migratory birds and require large open spaces to nest, the martin birdhouse is housing the local birds in my small neck of the city. 

For more information:
             on purple martins  purplemartin.org
             beneficial birds in the garden  Best birds for your garden

Houseplant Basics......Light

Michele K. Koskinen

How do you enhance your home or work environment? Consider buying a houseplant. Indoor plants give our living or working spaces a sense of beauty and softness by providing a different focus than the harsh lines of building interiors. Some plants provide better indoor air quality and most just a connection with nature. 

Before selecting and purchasing a houseplant the requirements for growing the plant successfully should be considered. Most of us buy a plant because it attracts us and do not think of the growing requirements until we get home. Light, water, humidity, and space all needed for a healthy growing environment are factors important in selection. Depending on the location and the plants posible poisonous implication for pets or children should also be taken into account. So before you buy think
of where that plant will be in your home.

Light and water are the most important factors in growing houseplants successfully. Many homes have little natural light that is bright enough to grow many plants. There are formulas for measuring light from each window that can be found in many books or websites. The direction of the light N_S_E_W and the time of year all impact the light requirements. You can also use artificial light for growing certain plants.    
                 Q&A on light               Lighting and Houseplants

The top plants for low light (the most common condition indoors) are usually the same 10 to 15 that are recommended. This list would be a good start to your shopping trip.

If search for low/medium light plants these are the most mentioned in books and websites.  You will find low and medium light plants are known for their folage and texture. Flowering plants need more natural light or artificial light.

For a pdf download on .....Caring for Houseplants

Chinese Evergreen (Aglaomena modestum) Mottled leaves little water

In the bathroom about 5 feet from the window. The marking of the leaves becomes more pronounced with more light. No direct sun.

Dumbcane  (Dieffenbachia)    Large leaves tolerates dry soil

Golden Pothos (Epepremnum)  Hanging or trailing plant... water lightly

This plant sits at the bottom of a stairwell with virtually no light in the winter. It becomes more colorful in the summer when I put it outside under an awning.

Snake Plant  (Sansevieria)     Tall tongue like foliage...

dry soil little water.

A dark space with light at times.

ZZ Plant   (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) Fleshy leaves low water requirements

Ordering seeds for your garden

Michele Koskinen

It is that time of year when many gardeners are ordering seeds and planning their gardens. In doing so they are looking at a multitude of seed catalogs and wondering what would be best for their gardens or what they would like to add or change. Some will choose the same variety they have had success with in prior years, others will look for new varieties of favorites or new plants to try. Every year new varieties come on to the market and many look so inviting and new. What should you do?

There is a science to what we plant. The success of our garden is usually specific to our growing conditions which includes soil, climate, disease, and ease of care. As a Master Gardener I know that Penn State Extension as well as other extensions around the country do research on varieties of vegetables, annuals and perennials suited for their particular state. In doing so they give the gardener information without alot of digging arouund on your own.

Penn State has free publications for the Pennsylvania gardener.
        The best vegetable varieties for Pennsylvania gardeners. Link to a pdf
        Information on seed packet.  Link to pdf

Philadelphia Gardeners' Information Resources

January is the time for seed catalogs coming through your mail box and for planning the coming summer’s campaign in the garden.

To expand your knowledge and keep up to date with the latest thinking and practices in horticulture, take advantage of the fantastic range of free resources available from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, and similar resources from nearby state universities.

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences has a big publication program — many publications are free, others are for sale (inexpensively) and many can be downloaded as PDFs. Go to http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/Publications.asp to search for publications and to browse lists.

The Vegetable & Small Fruit Gazette is Penn State's monthly newsletter for commercial vegetable and small fruit growers. Although it is directed at commercial operations it has lots of information useful to gardeners. Send a blank email to gazette-L-subscribe-request@lists.psu.edu to subscribe.

If you have never done it, plan to do a soil test of your yard this spring. Go to http://extension.psu.edu/philadelphia/programs/master-gardener/horticulture-hot-line for information. While you are there, download a copy of the valuable Philadelphia Planting Guide, which has a detailed calendar of planting and seeding times especially tailored to Philadelphia’s climate.

Our neighboring states also have excellent information programs. The News Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station lists its publications at http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/. University of Delaware Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets and Publications are available at http://extension.udel.edu/factsheet/.

My MG Volunteer Work at Mander

Kristin Lacey

It was April and the clock was time was running out to find my Master Gardener volunteer activity. I had about 10 down. 40 hours to go. Educating kids was my goal and then Jackie Simon’s email arrived in my inbox. She touted a 4-H opportunity which included working with kids at the Mander Recreational Center in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city. “Perfect,” I thought, “I already know and work with these kids!” For the last 2 years I have been volunteering with Urban Blazers, getting kids outside hiking in Fairmont Park while teaching them about nature.

To get started, I met with the folks at EPRA (East Park Revitalization Alliance) as they run the education piece of the Mander after school program. They also run an orchard and 2 farm sites, a farm stand, and they help link the kids to the farmers who are already providing produce to this community. Nicole Sugarman is EPRA’s farmer in chief. So, I joined forces with her to educate the kids about what was happening real time in the gardens and then link it with a corresponding nutrition/cooking lesson.

First up were potatoes! We needed to get some in the ground, easy enough, but it was raining so we couldn’t have the kids walk the several blocks to the farm site. So for our backup plan: I grabbed some potatoes from my kitchen and some cornmeal. Nicole and I met the kids at the rec center and got the oven hot in the rec center’s kitchen. We handed out sheets naming the parts of the potato plant and the kids colored them in. This fostered a great conversation about all the different colors of potatoes there are. Laughter erupted with the kids’ disbelief that there are purple potatoes. 

Back to the kitchen: We had the kids dredge the potato slices in a mix of cornmeal, salt and pepper. Then we baked them. The kids liked them. Even the kids who were at first not interested in helping us in the kitchen, found their way in to try the potatoes and then eat seconds!  

The next week it rained again! No hands on planting that day for the kids. But head farmer Nicole harvested kale that day for our second cooking class. This time we made kale chips! The kids loved ripping the kale into pieces and tossing it with oil, salt and pepper. With green kale in their teeth they asked for more! All summer long the kids learned more about veggies and fruits, harvesting and taking home produce to share with their families. The kids’ excitement and interest was reward enough but Nicole was patient and kind as she answered my never ending questions about organic veggie and fruit farming.

Oh! I forgot to mention that EPRA and the kids run a farm stand with all their farms’ bounty. Check out these great pictures of Mander and neighborhood kids at the farmstand.

EPRA also runs a food pantry all year round. The pantry is always in need of non-pershable food donations. Bring canned goods or extra peanut butter, etc. to the next Master Gardener meeting and I will take them to the pantry.

Not a Master Gardener? Feel free to drop off donations at EPRA’s office:

East Park Revitalization Alliance
1737 N. 31st St.
Philadelphia, PA 19121
(215) 869-4208