The Examiner
This time of year when days are filled with gray, it’s the perfect time to plan colorful gardens. At our house, seed catalogs have begun arriving with pages bursting with fruits and flowers of all colors.
Today, organically grown fruits and vegetables are becoming more easily accessible and people are exploring growing vegetables. Gardeners are also discovering the joys of heirloom gardening. No, it isn’t hanging your grandmother’s lace around the garden, but it is planting tomato plants with the same seed type she would have used 50 years ago.
There are several reasons people believe in collecting and planting seeds from vegetables and flowers. Especially now with genetically altered foods, protecting genetically diverse plants, especially food plants, has become an important issue. If you have ever tasted an heirloom tomato, the debate is over. You will not need to know any more information. The rich, juicy flavor of an heirloom vegetable just cannot be beat.
The Examiner
Santa’s famous ride across the sky is a recent memory and probably by now all of the presents have been unwrapped, paper has been bagged up, and the bows and ribbons saved and packed for next year (right!).
I’ve paraphrased what Matt Riggs, recycling outreach coordinator with the Mid-America Regional Council (Solid Waste Management District, said on KCUR radio: Trash from Kansas City households dramatically increases from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. Presumably, much of this waste is gift wrap. All gift wrap can be recycled,unless it is shiny, or foil.
Your beautiful live Christmas tree has been gracing your living room for several weeks spreading pine-scented fragrance and good cheer. It might be getting a little frazzled at this point, and the needles are starting to drop. It’s time to find the perfect place for recycling.