habitat for humanity gardening

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY GARDENING
over the last few years while volunteering
at the williamson county habitat for humanity house builds
i have put in an organic square foot raised garden
for the home owners interested in having a garden

not all of the owners expressed interest
but
if they do
as we build the houses i scrounge around
for left over boards that are appropriate
cedar ones are the best
sometimes i am able to accumulate enough concrete blocks
that i find left at the construction sites
or
sometimes they are just given to me to use


this is the first one i did on the first house i worked on
its a single mom with two kids
i wish i had a garden to grow fresh vegetables
well she spoke to the right person
luckily for her

i had left over cedar boards that i had saved
so
i built a frame
filled it with the best organic garden soil all ready to go
with everything in it like compost fertilizer minerals
ready to plant it is

in this one i added a central composter
i quit doing that since i found a lot of the folks
werent using it much
so it allows another plant to be planted
this garden has 16 one ft squares to plant in

now i give them a list of things to plant in the spring
and
then a list for the fall

all they have to do is add compost and an organic fertilizer
plant the garden
keep it watered


this is the next one i planted
again scrounging some cedar boards
adding a central composter
the owner is a single mom with 2 kiddos
her mother is a gardener so i knew the garden would be
in good hands


another one i did was for a single mom with a son
i had accumulated a lot of concrete blocks so i made
this one for her
i also was given two rainwater tanks for her to use
for water for the garden
she was proud and her young son was a happy camper
having never gardened before

then this last house
a fellow worker volunteer
said they sure would like a garden
so i asked the young couple with two kids
yes they seemed excited to get a garden

so
as we built the house
they had these two big ole 2x12 boards that were slightly warped
that couldnt be used on the house
so
i dug it out of the trash trailer
to make this
5 ft x 3 ft raised square foot garden
with
15 one foot squares
one i had already planted with a juliet tomato that i planted
in a pot back in early july
this juliet this weekend was loaded with green juliet tomatoes
if warm weather holds up this next month
they should get some fresh tomatoes

myself the husband the wife the two kiddos
then planted their garden this weekend
it was cold but the kiddos were out there all excited
to plant their garden
having never done this before

we planted
sweet peas  4 broccoli  4 strawberries
carrots  lettuce  spinach covering 6 one foot squares
i talked them into planting a swiss chard
since its an almost full proof plant for beginners
recommending they keep it cut back using smaller
leaves for their salads
leaving a few squares left for them to plant other
things or more lettuce or spinach

now i recommend they cut the spinach and lettuce
with scissors when they get larger
leaving a 2 inch or so stub so they will regrow
you can get weeks of lettuce and spinach this way

so
today
at the newest house
the owner said to me
wish i had a garden
so i will use concrete blocks that i have accumulated
over time
to build the frame of the garden

hopefully another habitat home owner will be able to
walk out their back door
to pull up fresh veggies

makes it worthwhile
it does

the organicgreen doctor

moms work day

MOMS WORK DAY
each year habitat for humanity williamson county has a
womens work day
only women show up to work
most of the regular worker volunteers that are males
stay away
just try being a male telling 10 women what to do
its like having 10 wives
no i think this should be done this way
no i think that should be over here
no that color doesnt look right
etc

so i usually stay away
however
i was asked could you save the landscaping for this new
house for one day
we want to use one of the womens work days to do the
landscaping

:-( is the way my face looked
thank goodness i was on the phone when i was asked

all kind of thoughts went through my mine
is this going to be like having 10 my wife shes working
with me
with me telling them what to do

i just hope they dont all look like this when i ask them
to do something
yes thats my wife she staring in the distance
i think she was biting her tongue so much it was bleeding

so i said yes i would do it
with some trepidation
just hope none of them read my blog today

so this house we will be working on is a repossession
the folks apparently just walked off
trashed the house well is what they did

but
with a lot of elbow grease and paint it will look brand new

here is what i started with
a pecan tree an old native one with another one in the back
during the house construction the dirt got piled up so
that the tree flare could not be seen
so i and the new homeowners son dug it all out
we dug 1 ft of dirt off the tree so now the root flare shows

there are two red bud trees planted in the wrong place
these are nice trees however they live about 25 years
then
they just die

i attempted to dig them up
however on both trees the roots were so girdled
that means they were growing around and around like
a big ole screw
destining this tree to an early death
i preformed euthanasia on it
into the brush pile it went

the two indian hawthornes by the front porch are really
struggling
they should have been planted in a raised bed so their feet
wont get too wet
so up they came
they will be replanted in the back in a better location
by
the back porch in a new bed that will raised so water
can drain off it
if they dont make the transition i will plant turks cap
and cat mint in those beds
two natives that require no upkeep and provide flowers
for bees and hummingbirds

then along the front a new bed was  made using
donated lava rock which is laid over black plastic to help
kill out the bermuda grass
the homeowner wanted cactus so spineless cactus
will be planted in the middle of the bed
next year on either side
by then the bermuda under there should be all dead
the homeowner will rake bake the lava rock
slit the plastic
dig out a planting hole
add good soil and plant a xeric flowering plant of
her choice
thanks to cm for donating two truckloads of lava rock

also someone donated the limestone rocks that will be
used around the borders of the beds
thanks to sp for finding these
enough to use at three habitat houses

so i have a budget when i asked for this project
of zero
kinda hard to do landscape with all that money
so thanks to those who donate their time and supplies

i will donate a few shrubs and the soil for them
but a local landscape nurseries gives me a big discount
on them

then in the back a monterey oak was planted about
a foot too deep
so i dug it out so the root flare is visible now

the only problem is it was planted underneath a power line
so
the electric company will regularly take a big bite of
the top of the tree on a regular basis when the tree gets bigger

so on the day before mothers day on womens build landscape day
we will
place cardboard around the pecan tree and the beds for the shrubs
lay a thick layer of mulch around the trees
but not not not up against the tree trunks
and
on top of the beds
the shrubs two dwarf yaupon hollies and two salvia greggiis will
be planted in the front yard raised bed
a yard of compost will be spread over the yard
an organic fertilizer will be spread on the yard
hoping that will resuscitate the ignored grass
photos to follow

hoping that i survive these 10 my wife shes

if you have the xx chromosomes
you can join this workday
here is the link

the organicgreen doctor

house that caring built

HOUSE THAT CARING BUILT
yesterday after working for 3 hours at the habitat for humanity
build
i was working on the landscaping getting it ready for the first
phase of its installment this weekend
a nice cooled off weekend lucky for us
i sat on a turned over 5 gallon bucket in the shade where
it was cool
if you live around here you know it was hot
it got to 102 here

so i was hot
got my cold bottle of bottled water
poured some in my old floppy hat
then put it on my head letting the cool water run
down my face and neck
felt good it did

i sat there relaxing for a moment before i returned to
the hot sunny spot i was working
i looked at the workers
all volunteers coming and going
like busy bees or ants
doing their jobs
all workers today were regulars they are called
who come here and work every week
most are retired some arent like the airline pilot that works
when he can

it is amazing to me as i look at this house sitting there
all finished on the outside
and about to be finished soon on the inside
how it all got built with these volunteers and groups of folks
from churches banks high schools teachers dell computers
food companies and many others
coming together to put this house together

most who come there do it volunteerly and seem to enjoy
the work as they do it
then
there is always this sense of accomplishment and that
you know good feeling deep down inside
that you did something good for someone

something money cant buy
something missing from a lot of people

yep as i sat there took all this in
thinking about
amazed by it

i guess its the modern version of the old barn raising
where neighbors came together to build their neighbors barn

i also sat there looking at the landscaping job that we are
about to start this weekend
i realized its much like a blank canvas
i take what supplies are on hand
what monies i can scrounge
what funds habitat allows for the landscape
then
i paint this picture with what we have
this landscape picture thats up in my head
somehow i have developed this ability to visualize
what it will all look like
even 20 years later

an artist i am i guess
a landscape one

the organicgreen doctor

busy as a bee

BUSY AS A BEE
thats what i am right now
as busy as can be

i am doing a seminar next week
one hour on
the different major dementias
which i have learned a lot from preparing for this talk
then
one hour on
research in alzheimers disease
that one i dont have to do much research on
since i live that one

then in two weeks i will be doing a seminar with a
caregiver whose husband has alzheimers
shess living what she will be talking about
caregiving
ours will be a question and answer seminar after lunch
here is the link to the day long seminar
its filling up fast

then i take a break from doing my presentations
but if asked i will do one
i like the q and a ones where folks ask the questions they
want answers for


then im involved in 3 walk to end alzheimers in central texas
bell county wtea, williamson county wtea, and travis county wtea

i have a team in the first two walks the organicgreendoctor team

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donate or join at this link

bell county 11/1/14










williamson county 9/27/14

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look at our online silent auction which closes on september 21, 2014
at
www.32auctions.com/ogd

bid on
-my organic squarefoot garden that i will build and plant for you
-one or both beautiful quilts by my plastic surgeon friend
-$100 gift certificate to the monument cafe group in georgetown
all have been bidded on
500 folks have reviewed it so far
the bidding should pick up as we near the closing date

then my wife she and i walk with austin regional clinics team
in the travis county walk on 10/12/14 since they are one of the
sponsors of that walk

my wife she and i will also be walking in the little rock arkansas
walk to end alzheimers 11/8/14 on my brothers team #joe nash 

all the walks are in honor personally
of my mother father and my younger brother joe
all of whom had this terrible disease

i sit on each of the local committees which have been meeting since
april planning all these walks

so i put a lot of time and effort into the alzheimers associations walks
since they are the major fundraiser for the alzheimers association
they are helping find a treatment and cure for this disease

i also threw down the purple challenge last week which has generated
quite a few donations from around the country and several folks
signing up for their walks locally


the purple challenge can be seen here
basically
-you agree to wear a purple shirt for a day and
post a picture on facebook etc of yourself in said shirt
-donate or join a local walk at www.alz.org/walk
-then personally challenge 3 people to do the same
keep it going please

then i work at williamson county habitat to humanity
once or twice a week doing whatever is needed eg
last week we painted the doors and frames inside the house
and we cleared trash and brush that had accumulated on
the property


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you can help fund the landscaping i do by going to this link
http://www.gofundme.com/bxgjts
landscaping starts next saturday

more next week on habitat for humanity

then of course every friday am come rain or shine
mostly shine around here
i deliver meals on wheels over a 20 mile route
its a humbling experience sometimes knowing we let
our elderly live like this
sad is what it is

then finally i do my honeydoes househusband chores

so just call me buzz bobby the bee

the organicgreen doctor