Thursday, May 19, 2022

Smart Gardeners are Composting!

 


Approximately 92% of household food waste still goes directly to landfills, where it anaerobically decomposes, expelling methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide - into
the atmosphere.  Don't be that jerk - rather compost kitchen scraps the right way in your own garden!  It saves not only the environment but also money in your purse...

You can easily improve your flower garden with compost, top dress your lawn, feed your growing veggies, and even mulch your planting beds with compost.  Once you get your compost pile started, you will find that it's an easy way to repurpose kitchen scraps and other organic materials into something that can help your plants thrive. Depending on the time of year, paper for example turns into compost within 2 - 4 weeks, and potato peels within 1 - 2 months.

Common misconceptions of home composting are that it's too complicated, it will smell funny, and it's messy.  This may be true if you compost the wrong way, but composting the right way is actually quite simple.  Just layer organic materials, add a dash of soil and a splash of water, and wait for this mixture to turn into humus

What Goes Into the Compost:

  • Fruit and vegetable scraps
  • Coffee and tea grounds
  • Crushed Eggshells 
  • Grass and plant clippings
  • Dry leaves and small dry branches
  • Finely chopped wood and bark chips
  • Shredded newspaper and office paper
  • Straw and paper egg cartons
  • Small amounts of ash from your fireplace
  • Sawdust from untreated wood
  • Lint from your dryer
  • Hair and nail clips, dog or cat hair
  • Spent soil from indoor/outdoor flower pots
  • Yard trimmings and grass clippings 

Keeping a container in your kitchen, or even better a large paper grocery bag, and piling your kitchen waste onto some sheets of newspaper, wrap it and place it in this device until filled up.  If you collect it this way it doesn't small.  I practice this for years!  In summer I place the whole paper bag into a hole that I dug in my flower beds,  and then fill and top it with soil.  In winter I collect it in my garage until it is warm enough to dig again.


Start building your compost pile by mixing three parts brown with one part green materials.  If your compost pile looks too wet and smells, (which doesn't happen if you pack kitchen scraps into the paper) then add more brown items. Aerate the pile every ten-day. If you see it looks extremely brown and dry, add green items and water to make it slightly moist.

Add about 4 to 6 inches of compost to your flower beds and into your pots at the beginning of each planting season.  Or even better: compost directly into the soil instead of a (god forbid plastic) composting bin in your garden.

It works like this: decide a spot where you want to plant in a couple of weeks.  Dig a hole at least one foot deep and wide.  Throw a couple of dry branches (ca. 8 inches long) into the hole, then add your collected compost items to fill it half, add a thin layer of garden soil or composted manure (chicken, cow, or sheep), then fill the hole with more compost, and on top again a layer of soil.  Add some water to moisten it and use a thin metal stick to aerate the 'compost bin'.   Should you have lots o squirrels or raccoons in your area, place a flat stone or a flower planter on top for the first two weeks to deter them from digging.  Within three or four weeks you can plant in this compost-improved soil.

Sources:

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/how-to-garden/no-dig-gardening/

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/advice/a23945/start-composting/

https://www.gardenary.com/blog/the-basics-of-composting-in-your-own-backyard

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/compost/how-to-compost/

https://facty.com/network/how-to/how-to-compost-at-home

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/compost/9-common-composting-mistakes-you-may-be-making/

https://gardensbybarby.ca/

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Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Publishing Newsletter May 2022

 



Content:

GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

FREELANCE OFFERS

WRITING CONTESTS

I hope you had a successful April and have lots to celebrate in May: Mother’s Day, Victoria Day, or Memorial Day, lots of Spring flowers, BBQs, long sunny days - and certainly new books. These are our many helpful tips for publishers and authors for this month:

- GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

Litup Fellowships

Selected fellows will participate in an all-expenses-paid writer's retreat to develop their manuscripts and learn about the business side of publishing. Post retreat, fellows are matched with a published author for a three-month mentorship to get their book ready for market.  No Entrance Fee.  Deadline May 31.   https://reesesbookclub.com/litup/

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Glen Arbor Arts Residency

Residencies are considered in the disciplines of creative writing, visual arts, photography, sculpture, fiber arts, ceramics, and music. Each residency is a one-person opportunity of two weeks in duration.  The artist-in-residence program offers artists a unique opportunity to work in an awe-inspiring locale within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.    https://glenarborart.org/artists/application-details/

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- FREELANCE OFFERS

Healthy Rich

Healthy Rich has several topics in which they week pitches. Pay is $200 for articles of whatever length is needed; 1,000–1,500 words is typical.   https://www.healthyrich.co/write-for-us

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Hudson Valley Magazine

Each month, this sophisticated lifestyle publication entertains, informs, and explores so that our loyal readers can enjoy the very best the region has to offer. The fee depends on length/section, around 30-50 cents/word. Email Francesca Furey, Associate Editor, at ffurey@hvmag.com

https://hvmag.com/contact-us

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Gawker

Rates start at 33 cents/word for essays and 50 cents/word for reported pieces. Seeking cutting criticism, thoughtful reviews, weird essays, strong opinions, interesting reporting on a variety of topics. Pitch Jenny G. Zhang at jenny@gawker.com. Tends to gravitate toward culture, film, tv, the internet, media, race, gender, and books.   https://gawker.com/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F_rWGwSIOl3JXGuSmrlj8XMF-bMz_d--iLIZsl8CbQ0/edit

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Gastro Obscura 

The magazine publishes stories about food and drink that are curious, overlooked, and awesome in the “awe” sense of the word. We are the food vertical of Atlas Obscura, whose mission is to inspire wonder and catalog the world’s hidden wonders. We do not publish restaurant reviews or interviews with famous chefs.  Gastro Obscura also publishes stories with recipes. These stories must meet the same criteria as the rest of our articles. Rates start at $300 and usually pay around $0.50 per word. 

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Grant Writer

Professionals with grant writing experience are wanted for non-profit community development organizations that specialize in small business lending and affordable housing lending in underserved communities. Familiarity with CDFI Fund, SBA, EDA, and DHHS is a plus. Pays $125 per hour.  https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?cmp=Friedman-Associates&t=Grant+Writer+Consultant&jk=b80e0913d7a98a30

- WRITING CONTESTS

Emerging Writer's Contest 

Under 6,000 words, open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish or self-publish a book. Awards publication, $2,000, review, and a one-year subscription for one winner in each of the three genres. Fiction and Nonfiction.  $24 Entry Fee. Deadline May 15.  https://www.pshares.org/submit/emerging-writers-contest/guidelines

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Aura Estrada Short Story Contest

First prize $1,000 and publication. All entries must be related to this year’s theme of Speculation. Stories must not exceed 5,000 words and must be unpublished.  $20 Entry Fee.  Deadline May 31.  https://bostonreview.submittable.com/submit

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Did You Know?

For each print version of our books you buy, you will receive the ebook for FREE. Just send us a screenshot of your invoice or an attached scan and we will email you a mobi or an epub electronic version of the title. This is especially important when books carry lots of links.


Earn-Money.


Book-Reviews.


Booktrailer.

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Audiobooks for Success.


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Video Creation

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Coming Soon:

Dream-Job-Pilot?

 

Have a great May and enjoy writing and publishing new books 

for the upcoming “Summer Reading” season.