April 1, 2000
Arbor Day Celebration
Plant-A-Row for the Hungry - vegetables
An Environment Month

Welcome Spring - Plant A Tree!

What a better way to welcome spring than to plant a tree. Also what a better way to start a new millenium than with trees - your future trees and with our future America's than with our Children's Garden Club. With the celebration of Missouri Arbor Day, National Arbor Day, April National Garden Month and Earth Day, it's a good reason to consider this an environmental month. It is a very good time to plant a tree for our future and the future of our children's children. Friday, April 7, 2000 is Missouri Arbor Day. Arbor Day began in April 1872 by J. Sterling Morton, a pioneer settling in Nebraska City, Nebraska. With his arrival to an area of treeless desolation of the prairies, coming from the woodland regions of New York and Michigan, he not only planted trees on his property but encouraged his neighbors and others to do likewise. Sterling's envision has transformed the wind swept plains of Nebraska into tranquil wooded areas. His perseverance of tree planting and working with the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture finally got him a day in April known as "Arbor Day. In Missouri the first Friday in April is "Arbor Day." With out state tree the beautiful Flowering Dogwood. Missouri first observed Arbor Day in 1886. School children have been involved with Arbor Day from the very beginning, every fourth-grader in the state of Missouri every fourth-grader receives their own tree seedling to plant from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Surveys show that about one-third of these trees survive. These and all trees planted add to the beauty of our county, state and national. Trees beyond their beauty help clean the air and water in our communities. With this growing knowledge and appreciation of trees will hopefully encourage tomorrow's adults to become good stewards of our natural resources. Today everyone is receiving a Deciduous Holly or Possumhaw (Ilex deidua). On Arbor Day, Friday, April 7, 2000 at the County Government Center at the Soldiers Memorial, Scout Pack 457, Dens 5, 6 and 7 will plant a Dogwood Tree to celebrate Arbor Day. A proclamation by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 to the schools of the United States to observe an Arbor Day in every state in our union. At various times from January to December but chiefly in this month of April.

"A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as hopeless; forest which are so used that they cannot renew themselves will soon vanish, and with them all their benefits. A true forest is not merely a storehouse full of wood, but as it were, a factory of wood, and at the same time a reservoir of water. When you help to preserve our forests or to plant new ones you are acting the part of good citizens. The value of forestry deserves, therefore, to be taught in the schools, which aim to make good citizens of you. If your Arbor Day exercise helps you to realize what benefits each one of you receives from the forests and how by your assistance these benefits may continue, they will serve a good end" --Theodore Roosevelt.

"Plant-a-Row For the Hungry"

What can be better than the rewards of freshly harvested, tender full-flavored homegrown vegetables. The food you grow yourself can be picked when it's at the peak of its flavor, freshness - your favorites. You can choose from so many or maximize your harvest with limited space such as radishes, carrots and then beets into a succession planting spring/summer growth through harvest. With vegetable gardening being a favorite outdoor pastime which offers many opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors - sunshine, fresh air - a therapeutic way of physical relaxation and a great hobby and then the great reward of a flavorful harvest. Some of the most common grown vegetables are beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, radishes, spinach, squash and tomatoes. Choose a good garden site where you will receive at least 6 hours of sun each day well drained soil and a good source of water nearby. I personally like if you can find an area where you can incorporate a raised bed. The raised bed can create ideal conditions for plant roots. Also because you do not need usually to step into the garden thus the soil remains loose and not so compacted. The soil warms up sooner and drains better.

Spring is upon us and I personally feel no other season, overall, really excites gardeners more than this time of year. As we grow into a new millennium, new All-America selections for the year 2000 winners are cabbage --> Savoy Ex Press, Pepper --> Blushing Beauty, Pea --> Mr. Big and Sweet Corn -->Indian Summer. (See each sheet for details) The National Garden Bureau celebrates 2000 as the year of the Sweet Corn. Sweet Corn is an indisputable native of the Americas and has been consumed for 7,000 years. As we celebrate the new millennium, it is so appropriate for sweet corn to be selected as AThe Year of the Sweet Corn. With its history, new world origins, popularity and adaptability, corn is one of the most significant sources of food native to the Americas. I think all gardeners agree, sweet corn and tomatoes are the best home grown vegetables fresh from the home garden. The National Garden Bureau found the origin of Corn or Maize to be in Mexico, a wild grass, Teosinte (Zea Mexicana). The earliest corn cob found was 5,000 B.C., from Mexico, north to the U.S. and south to Central and South America. Almost 300 diverse forms of corn have been described from these regions.

Columbus - is attributed with bringing Maize back to Spain on his return voyage in 1493.

With vegetable gardening being a favorite outdoor pastime, because it offers many opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors - sunshine - a therapeutic way of physical relaxation, a great hobby and great rewards of flavorful harvests. A good garden site where you will receive at least 6 hours of sun each day, well drained soil and a good source of water nearby. Many gardeners, myself included, are the worst to plant too many different kinds of vegetables. Think of what you really enjoy eating and time you wish to give to the garden. Provide proper spacing for air movement and ease of picking and pollination. Maximize your harvest with limited space such as radishes, carrots and beets into a succession planting of a maximum harvest of this short period of growing time, also the radish/carrots do best in spring to beets in the summer. Some of the most common vegetables are beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onion sets, peas, peppers, radishes, spinach, squash and tomatoes.

Vegetable gardens require about 1" of water per week. It is best to water deeply and infrequently to encourage a good root system. When watering using soaker, trickle or if overhead sprinkler. When watering overhead, best if done in morning to avoid as much as possible in evaporation and keep foliage dry especially going into the night time to reduce the possibility of disease. Just beware you/most people can't grow them all. Grow what you enjoy the most or the available space you have to work with. Garden space may be limited to just a few containers on a deck or the time you have choose a location/area that will receive full or the most sun you can give, with good air circulation, with good drainage. I have best results planted in raised beds/planters. Also this will allow you warmed soil earlier and workable sooner. The ideal planting mix sandy loam with organic material. Your soil/growing medium is your foundation - the better or more time you take in good foundation, your crop will reward you. As you are watering remember that the roots of vegetables plants are shallow and require more water than other plants that are non-producing plants. Once plants are established, do a thorough watering once a week as opposed to frequently watering, except those planted in containers. Watering in the A.M. is best, and try to avoid plants going into the night with moist foliage. Washing down foliage in the morning especially underneath the plant, can keep insects and eggs from multiplying and problems developing.

Vegetables are usually heavy feeders, if organic matter was added you should be good but supplement a fertilizer is beneficial. A vegetable garden can stimulate the advancement of a child's love for gardening and enhance their appreciation and eating of a wide assortment/variety of vegetables. According to the National Garden Bureau, a vine-ripened-picked tomato tested soon after harvest has three times the vitamins of one that has been shipped. Your home garden can bring all the great nutritional values that you can put on the table direct from your garden for to be a healthier person. For instance carrots can supply nearly 14 percent of the vitamin A in American diets along with fiber, Vitamin B1, B2 and C.

• Calcium for strong bones and maintaining blood ph. balance. It is found in broccoli, lettuce, green beans, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, celery and parsley.
  
  
• Copper for elasticity of blood vessel and the heart, is found in vegetables grown soil rich in minerals that are contained in humans.
  
  
• Iron to build up blood and carry oxygen to cells is found in spinach, tomatoes, peas, lettuce and parsley.
  
  
• Magnesium needed to metabolize proteins and fats is found in beans, peas and lentils.
  
  
• Potassium which maintains levels in the cells is found in spinach, celery, lettuce, zucchini, carrots, cauliflower.
  
  
• Vitamin A, an anti-oxidant and immune system booster is found in carrots, bell peppers, butternut squash, parsley and spinach.
  
  
• Vitamin B-6 taken to metabolize protein and control symptoms of stress is found in spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, beans, tomatoes, squash, parsley and lettuce.
  
  
• Vitamin C an essential nutrient thought to prevent colds is found in sweet peppers, tomatoes, watermelons, broccoli, beans, and celery.
  
  
• Vitamin E an anti-oxidant is in leafy green vegetables.
  
  
• Zinc for cell division growth, sunburn, bug bites and healing is found in spinach, parsley, lettuce, squash and beans.
  
  

For gardeners in a rush to eat the roots of their labors, few vegetables are faster. Radishes when grown correctly will produce a good round red variety such as Cherry Belle, Champion. Avoid using high nitrogen fertilizer on the soil where they are to be planted. A high phosphorus fertilizer such as Super Phosphate or Bone meal will benefit root development. Loose, open, sandy soil will be advantage to allow the good root growth shape size needed. Mulching can be one of the cheapest and easiest methods of weed control, keep cool soil temperature and reduce soil moisture loss.

PAR - Plant a Row for the Hungry is now in its 5th Year. You have heard a lot about it from me - but it's simple - plant an extra row to be harvested to give to a charity or food pantry.

Here's everyone's opportunity to help others and also to help feed the hungry in your community. It's as simple as A Plant A Row For the Hungry! When planting your vegetable garden this year, take a little extra time and space to plant an extra row to be able to harvest extra and give it to the hungry of our community. You'll feel good about it.

• April - National Lawn and Garden Month.
  
  
• April 1 - April Fools' or All Fools' Day.
  The joke of the day is to deceive persons by sending them upon frivolous and nonsensical errands; to pretend they are wanted when they are not, or in fact, any way to betray them into some supposed ludicrous situation, so as to enable you to call them "An April Fool." Brady's Clavis Calendaria, 1812. "The first of April some do say is set apart for All Fools' Day but why the people call it so nor I no they themselves do know." - Poor Robin's Almanac from 1760.
  
  
• April 1-7. Golden Rule Week.
  
  
• April 2, 2000 at 2:00 a.m. - Daylight saving time begins. Remember to spring forward.
  
  
• April 2. International Children's Book Day.
  
  
• April 4. Moon Phase: New Moon - Moon enters New Moon Phase at 2:12 p.m., EDT.
  
  
• April 7. Missouri Arbor Day.
  
  
• April 7. United Nations: World Health Day.
  
  
• April 8. YMCA Healthy Kids Day.
  
  
• April 8-30. Azalea Festival - Muskogee, OK.
  
  
• April 9-15. National Gardening Week.
  
  
• April 9-15. National County Government Week.
  
  
• April 21. Butterfly Gardening Workshop, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Rockwoods Reservation, Glencoe, MO. Learn how to attract beautiful creatures to your yard and help continue their life cycles. Call to make your reservations needed 636-458-2236, Mon. through Fri.
  
  
• April 21. Kindergarten Day - the first kindergarten in a public school in the U.S. was started in 1873, at St. Louis, Missouri.
  
  
• April 22. Earth Day - 30th Anniversary - was started 1970 with message "New Energy for a New Era" in 2990 was a global event with more than 200 million participating in 142 countries.
  
  
• April 22. Discovery Night at Powder Valley from 6-9p.m. Kirkwood- Craigwood. For more information call 314-821-8442 or 314-301-1500.
  
  
• April 28. Arbor Day (National)