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Wednesday, March 17, 2010 The Kings Mountain Herald Open Gate Club learns about organic gardening | By DOT HAM ‘Club Reporter Fourteen members of the Open Gate Garden Club met at Boyce Memorial ARP Church with Betty Alexander as hostess. Mrs. Alexander served a deli- cious dessert course before the meeting and presided over the meeting which opened with the Club Collect. "What is organic: gardening all about?, asked Mrs. Alexander who pre- sented the program, "Pros and Cons of Organic Gardening." She said that we hear so much abut this method of gar- dening now and most gardeners would say it is gardening without using artifi- cially synthesized pesticides, herbicides an fertilizers. That sounds pretty sim- ple, she said, but organic gardeners start with the soil. Instead of focusing on the cosmetics of your garden focus on what makes your plants healthy in the first _ place - rich, organic soil. If you practice composting, you * have a free and endless source of nutri- ent-rich organic soil for your garden, 30-50 percent of all household waste an be turned into garden soil. Organic mat- ter in the soil means having an.entire culture of good insects, microbes, worms and fungi to he[p in our garden. Microbes churn dirt into richer soil, the tunnels of worms aerate the ground, good insects eat the bad insects and weed seeds, and beneficial fungi forms a symbiotic relationship with the plant's roots. The bottom line is that you need a lot of patience to build up the natural defenses of your organic garden. There aré many advantages to or- ganic gardening and Alexander men- ‘tioned several. There is no need to buy, store, mix water or spray potentially dangerous chemicals - even profession- als with protective clothing have been affected. Most people say organic veg- etables taste better - don't rely on artifi- cial flavors. You get health benefits of exercise in your garden and really fresh and tasty vegetables. Increased soil or- ganic matter reduces erosion, conserves water to give drought resistance and feeds plants in time with their needs and avoiding excesses. With patience it is time to think abut organic gardening. Alexander gave timely tips and stated that it is time to rejuvenate an- nual vegetable and flower beds by till- ing them. While the dirt is being turned over, it's a good idea to mix in liberal amounts of compost, leaf mold or de- cayed organic matter to help improve the soil by adding natural nutrients into the soil. Prune summer beauties such as althea, buddleia, crape myrtle and pomegranate at the beginning of March to stimulate more flower production later in the growing season. Go easy on the pruners though because not all trees and shrubs benefit from a spring shear- ing. Treasurer Dot Ham reported that it was time to pay dues. A Thank you note was read from Bill McCarter, son of the late Margaret McCarter, and an invitation * from Friends of the Library to arrange a flo- ral arrangement for the homes to be on tour. The club voted to make one arrangement or present a monetary gift. Betty Grant, secretary, gave a update on the back parking lot project and re- minded that the nandinas need to be re- placed. Mrs. Louise Roberts noted that the planting should start at the gate sec- tion section by section after determi- nation of how many and where to place them in each section. The arrangement for the meeting was abeautiful shamrock. Peggy Baird will be hostess in April and Stella Ware o will give the program. << CTF COT CC SSS on Enter our 2 Annual Piedmont Peeps Show Diorama Contest! How do you like your marshmallow Peeps - soft and squishy or maybe a little dried out? Here at the Kings Mountain Her- ald we like ours having fun - maybe hiking in the mountains, whitewater rafting, gardening, playing baseball or football, or whatever itis that means fun in the Piedmont region to you. So what does this have to do with you? We want you to enter our Second Annual Pied mont Peeps Show Diorama Contest! You're diorama can be any three-dimensional scene with a painted or modeled background. The rules are simple: Your scene must feature Peeps as the characters and must depict some aspect of living in the Piedmont region. You may work by yourself or as a team. As you will see below on our entry form we will have several age divisions as well as a business category so our local businesses can depict their work- place and/or employees. We will award one winner in each category so please, get creative and free the Peeps! Judges will base their decision on the dioramas design, quality of execu- | tion, creativity, and relevance to life in the Piedmont region. All dioramas / must be turned in to the Kings Mountain Herald office located at 700 East Gold Street with the entry form attached by 5:00 pm, Friday, April 2, 2010. Diora- mas will be on display in our office so stop by and see what great ideas peo- ple have come up with so far. And remember, this is a family contest so please don’t take the ‘Peeps’ show literally! winners will be announced in the Kings Moun- tain Herald. Kings NRE VT) BUM WENN NWN JSON NN WEA NCW T_— 000 So. 8 — 0 S— 0 _— oS] oo" yom" i ue eu sn: oy y Peeps on the Farm Chloe Cooke of Kings Mountain winner of the 2009 0-6 age division. y 8 gs 8 . | Piedmont Peeps Show Official Entry Form | | Name(s) | Phone Number ! : Diorama Tite “i : Categories (please check one) : : Fil Brief Description: Cad Ages 0-6 : | | | A Ages 7-11 Ages 16 & Up | | Ages 12-15 Business HL | Tape this completed entry form to the ack of your diorama and bring the diorama in to: | ! The Kings Mountain Herald | 700 E. Gold Street, Kings Mountain, NC «+ 704-739-7496 || : I | by 5:00 pm on’ Friday, April 2, 2010 | i ib RR eg Lh a nae Re by SABER
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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March 17, 2010, edition 1
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