2013 Board of Directors
Bruce Gottschall,
President Patricia Abrams, Vice-President Ofelia Navarro, Secretary Lawrence Grisham, Ex-officio Director Calvin Holmes, Treasurer Joy Aruguete Joel Bookman Pamela Gecan Edward Jacob Mike Jasso Brenda Palms-Barber Rosanna Marquez Robert McGhee Guacolda Reyes Will Towns Marva Williams Staff
Kara Breems, Executive Director Teresa Lambarry, Outreach Director |
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Dear CCLT Homeowner,
Today we are going to talk about gardening. Gardening is therapeutic, good exercise, and makes our spaces - whether big or small - prettier places to live.
Don't have a yard? You can borrow someone else's! I volunteered a couple of weeks ago to help out with the Department of Housing and Economic Development's Rebuilding Together team. T his national nonprofit rehabilitates homes for low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly and those with disabilities.
I helped plant some trees and flowers in the back yard. It wasn't easy, and by the end of our planting my back was achy, but it was very rewarding, the owners were so grateful, and the back yard looked beautiful.
You might also consider joining a community garden! Gardens are popping up all over Chicago. Find one near you by clicking this link.
And for those of you who are condo owners and think that gardening is out of the question, I found some very informative articles on container gardening which I hope will help you start your own condo garden.
Before we part I just wanted to catch up with my worm composting CCLT homeowners and friends who received composting bins along with worms at last year's June Extreme Room Makeover event. How are your worms doing? Send me an email or give me a call to let me know. It has almost been a year since we started composting. If you need to refresh your memory as to the care of your worms please click here.
Until next month, happy gardening!
Sincerely,
Teresa Lambarry
CCLT Outreach Director
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May 1st is traditionally the first day of gardening in Chicago, with the last frost typically occurring in April - so you can get out there and garden!
Here are some gardening tips for those of you with back yards:
- Avoid working in your garden or beds unless the soil is dry. You don't want to compact the soil by walking on it, or form hard clods by trying to dig or till too soon. Test your soil's readiness by scooping up a handful and squeezing it into a ball. Drop the ball from about waist-high. It is shatters, it's probably dry enough to work. If the ball stays intact, move on to some other garden chores for now.
- Weeds pop up fast in lawns and gardens when the temperatures rise, so jump on them right away. Use a pre-emergent weed control to get rid of weeds before they've had time to germinate, or a post-emergent if they're already actively growing. Be kind to the earth, and only use chemicals as a last resort.
- For organic weed control, use landscape fabric or mulch that blocks as much sunlight as possible. Newspaper, cardboard, a thick layer of bark, dried leaves or weed-free straw and hay are good choices. Later on, you can cut "X's" in the fabric to make room for your plants.
- If the soil is dry enough to move around in your garden, remove the old winter mulch. It it's decomposing, and it's free of weed seeds and hasn't been used around plants that suffered from diseases, it's fine to work it into your soil to help improve it. Replace as needed with fresh mulch. Don't forget mulching your shrubs and trees, too, to help conserve moisture once hot weather arrives.
- Prune your fruit trees before they bud out.
- Change the oil and spark plugs in your lawn mower. Sharpen the blade with a metal file, or take it to hardware store to have it done. Check to see if your mower needs a new belt..
- After your spring bulbs finish, let the foliage die back naturally before removing it. Don't cut it, braid or tie it. Your bulbs soak up sunshine in their leaves, which provides the energy for next year's flowers.
- Consider installing a drip irrigation system or soaker hoses. They'll save time and deliver water to plants more efficiently than overhead sprinklers, and you'll be glad you have them if rain is scarce.
- This is a great time to start a garden journal, before you get really busy outdoors. Sketch your garden, so you can rotate your crops next year, and note the dates you planted, so you'll know when your harvest should be ready. You might want to include a spot to save plant care tags, too.
For those of you with condos:
Condo owners can also add natural beauty around their living spaces. By carefully following any rules in their condominium bylaws, and by seeking approval from the condominium board if necessary! The beautification can be a welcome addition to the entire property.
- Balcony or patio condo gardening can be done with as little as a few flower pots, baskets and/or boxes and some creativity. It's commonly known as container gardening or micro gardening.
- Scrub your garden pots with baking soda, water and stiff brush, and rinse them thoroughly. If you're worried about diseases lingering from last year's plants, soak the pots in a mixture of 10 parts water to 1 part bleach for 30 minutes. Be sure all the bleach is rinsed away, so you don't harm your plants. Let the pots drain and air dry before using them
- When selecting a site for your containers first consider what you'd like to grow. For instance, you're not likely to be able to harvest cabbages, carrots or tomatoes from container plants, but you certainly can cultivate a variety of herbs for seasoning foods!
- Note that hours of sunlight and temperature vary considerably from region to region and even from one side of a building to another, so before planting anything, make sure your location matches the conditions required for the plants you want to grow.
- Select appropriate containers for the intended plants. Make sure your container has appropriate drainage, and consider the watering needs: in sunny spots, containers - especially porous ones like terracotta - will require daily watering. If that sounds like too much work, you might want to think twice before spending money on plants.
- Make sure your container has a plate or basin beneath it to catch excess water, or you might have a container-sized hole in your balcony next fall.
- Here are some resources you can use for successful condo gardening. And remember to always be sure to check with your condo association bylaws before beginning any project, even on your own balcony, back porch or patio. Container gardening for condos Small space gardening Condominium gardening
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Get ready to attend the 31st Ward Housing Resource Fair on Saturday, June 8, 2013. Learn about sustainable backyards, and enter to win an Energy Star refrigerator. For residents of the 31st Ward there will be raffles.
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Learning Opportunities from our Partners
| Did you know that City of Chicago residents can get rebates from the City's Sustainable Backyards program for up to 50% of the cost of trees, shrubs, native plants, compost bins, and rain barrels?
A wealth of other resources and links to events and useful information - is online at
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Get Involved in Your Community
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If you hurry you can sign up to volunteer at one of many clean-ups across the City at Chicago River Day, which is on Saturday, May 11th 2013.
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Community and Ward Information
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CCLT homeowners live in the 2nd, 3rd, 26th, 27th, 28th, 35th, 46th, and 49th Wards. I did a little research to find links to your ward information. By using the link provided below, you will find a wealth of information regarding your Alderman, your Ward, and your Community, including, in some cases a link to sign for the Ward's newsletter. If you do not know what Ward you are in or we missed you, please give me a call or shoot me an email and I will let you know.
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Event Calendar
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Click here to visit our calendar, which includes information about Post Purchase workshops sponsored by our partners as well as CCLT post-purchase homeowner classes that are available at no cost to all CCLT homeowners. |
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