Earth Day April 22 2009

markcase1964

15 years ago

April 2009

Earth Day is April 22, 2009. I want to see if 10,000 people can plant a package of some type of seeds on that one day.

Growing a plant helps a lot of ways. Some plants give us food. It feels good to grow something that you can later eat. Some plants make us feel good to look at them. They are just pretty. Plants give us oxygen. Plants help clean the air by taking CO2 from our cars and other pollutants out of the air. Plants also help stop erosion by holding soil in place.

You can help this project in two ways. First, plant a pack of seeds on April 22, 2009. It doesnÂt matter what the seeds are, just plant them.

Second, would you give some seeds to a kid to plant at their home? If 200 people across the country would give out 50 packs of seeds, that would be 10,000 packs. If you are like my dad, he has more seeds than he will ever plant. He already said he would give 50 packs of seeds.

If you donÂt have extra seeds, you can buy them at the various $1 stores for 10 packs for a $1. So, $5 would give you 50 packs.

What do you do with your 50 packs? Bring them to a school and give them to the office and ask them to give them out to two classrooms and ask them to take them home and plant them that day.

Ok, 10,000 packs of seeds in one day. It will probably only take 15 short minutes to put your soil in a pot, move it to the right spot and plant your seeds. If you are going to put then in the ground, it will take around 15 minutes. If 10,000 packs of seeds were planted in one day, that means we just spent 2500 hours to help our environment.

How will I know if you helped? I have two ways you can tell me. I made a folder on photobucket.com where you can upload a picture of you planting your seeds. Just tell me what kind of seeds you planted in the description. Here is the link to post a picture. http://photobucket.com/EarthDay

I have also made a discussion forum on GardenWeb.com under the round robin section. You can post a discussion on what kind of seed you planted and/or how many seeds you gave away and who you gave your seeds to. Just post a follow up to this post.

Can someone help by telling others on different boards about this project? We can do it in two days! I know we can.

Pass this email out to EVERYONE as soon as possible. I would like to know if 10,000 packs of seeds were planted in one day. Thank you.

Matt Case, Troop 532

Hornaday Award Candidate

Old North State Council

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (32)

markcase1964
Original Author
15 years ago
I have 50 packs of seeds going to Randleman Middle School Science Department, Randleman, NC

Plus 50 packs of seeds to the school I work: Southern Guilford High.

anyone else going to plant or distribute seeds?
0
greenthumbgrow
15 years ago
Hi Mark... Be glad to...

I will give 20 packs to Nancys Christian Learning Center to send home with the kids to plant.

I will also plant out 35 packs myself that day - As I have them in a baggy and I have been meaning to get them in the dirt. I can't get picks of the ones I send to nclc but I will def. take photos of mine after planting...

OK now you can add 55 packs to your list.

Tammy:-)
0
Related Discussions
Quote for Earthday - April 22
Q
Comments (4)
In many Native cultures of the American Southwest, the earth really is thought of as a god, but many of those cultures were and are matriarchal, so the god is a female creator figure, like Spider Woman, spinning the world from her body, or Thought Woman, creating the world as she thinks and then speaks the creation story. I cannot be those people and feel the connection to the earth that they feel but I certainly do admire and at least try to understand in my Western European ways their perspective on the earth.
...See More
Quote Earth Day April 22
Q
Comments (11)
Thank you for your prayer. I was ranting to my children earlier this week about how some government officials are supporting earth day. Our state put up green lights in the state capital to support earth day. I wonder where those lights will end up now that earth day is over. After I finished ranting my sweet nine year old suggested we do our part by picking up trash on the nearest street. Better yet, he suggested we put the trash in our compost pile. I wish we could get the leaders of our country to think like my nine year old.
...See More
Earth Day Ban
Q
Comments (6)
HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) where I live did this back in 2000. At least I think that was the year. They banned a LOT of chemicals from the treatment of gardens and landscapes and ever since then have been educating people on the alternatives. Now I'm not saying that we have achieved perfection in this regard, but moving forward in this respect is better than maintaining what used to be the status quo. At first there was uproar from the landscaping and some of the gardening businesses which knew no other than to use these chemicals, but none of these businesses failed because of the change and for those which embraced the turnaround, their business profits/volume increased. It's all a matter of perception and knowledge. We do what we know how to do and when we know better we do better. My personal experience in eliminating chemicals from the gardens has been wonderful. It has meant more physical work on my behalf (Can't afford to hire help), but then again the physical activity is good for my well-being. Makes me less of a couch potato. The year after the ban was implimented, we bought a home in a more rural setting but still in HRM. I began to garden 'organically'. Keep in mind that I do not wear an organic banner on my forehead. :O) I gather UCGs (used coffee grounds) from a local store and throw them on the lawn to feed it. The lawn no longer turns brown in mid-July but stays lush and green all summer. The gardens are fed with my compost and no chemicals are used whatsoever because we raise Monarchs. Last year I was asked to participate in a local garden tour and I fielded so many questions about how I garden. People are truly becoming interested in nature's balance out there. They noticed that we had a lot of toads/frogs, birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, and even though they had come for the flowers, at least 90% asked questions about my 4 compost bins, stash of leaves, and lasagna gardens which were in progress. Here's a few photos... The lawn. Whatever brown you may see are clippings left there to feed the lawn over again. We mow with a reel mower. The new ones are easy to push and no gas or excessive noise... Mulch made of UCGs and shredded leaves. Part of the hosta gardens in June. Last Monarch of 2008 (male) released October 5th.
...See More
Discussion for Earth Day April 22,2012
Q
Comments (10)
I gave my old washer to Goodwill, as well as the dryer. My new washer is more efficient than a front loader. I bought a brand new wringer washer three years ago. I hang my clothes totally and let the sun dry it. In winter, I use one of my vacant greenhouses to hang clothes. Believe it or not, I can have five loads washed and hung to dry in the time it took my old washer to do one load.......and they're cleaner. I compost all suitable material, recycle everything recylable and what little is left will usually fill one garbage bag a month. I grow most of my own fruits and vegetables and preserve them. Have my own flock of chickens and use their manure on my gardens. All my errands in town are done on one day, in one trip and I traded in my SUV three years ago for a 30 mpg car. I do use fabric shopping bags. We installed a ceramic-clad hot water heater and it only kicks on once a day on off-peak hours. We built a solarium where the old porch used to be to windbreak and get solar gain in winter. We replaced the hoggish electric resistance heaters for a gas fired boiler with zones, so we only heat the sections of the house we use and can keep the other areas cooler. I use blinds to all windows, shut at night and open in daytime for the solar gain. I even installed a pitcher pump in my kitchen so that large quantities of water can be pulled up without using the electric pump from our spring holding tank. I use a minimum of paper products and disposibles ie washable cloth napkins. I buy organic real 'soap' by the gallon and use it for all our soap needs from laundry to dispensers and everything in between. I do not subscribe to anything I can't get online and buy as much as possible in bulk. Yes, I patch and darn and sew much of my own items and I cook almost entirely from scratch. We butcher our own meat some years as well since my son has a farm. Put bluntly...........neither my husband nor I are consumers. We buy what we need and that's about it and I'd rather have a tooth pulled than shop for the fun of it. IOW we live plainly and love it.
...See More
jaleeisa
15 years ago
I am in, the boys and I will not only be planting seeds that day, but plants as well, some from winter sowing and others that were bought for some 'now' color.

And I am donating supplies to Devin's, my 9 year old, class for them to plant and grow both marigolds and Melting Sugar Snow peas. They will start as a classroom project then take them home.

I'll try to post some pictures of everything, Matt, but please forgive me if I don't get to. Good intention doesn't always work out with my back problems lately. Just know that we're doing our share to celebrate our Earth and to continue to nurture it :)

Kathy
0
ncgardengirl
15 years ago
I can't donate but I can plant, MATT send me an email reminder. YOU don't know it yet but I am scatterbrained and I have to have reminders!
I will try to take pics of the plantings...might better remind me to do that too....
YA'LL STOP LAUGHING AT ME I am trying to help! (blushing, BUNNY STOP IT, you too KATHY, I see you snickering over there!) MARK, make them stop calling me OLD! You tell them I am NOT old, I am overbooked!

:) Fran
0
highalttransplant
15 years ago
I'm in charge of snack at my son's preschool that day - making a Dirt Cake. I can pick up packs of seeds to pass out to his classmates. I believe there's 16 children in the class, plus the two teachers, so you can put me down for 18 packs.

Bonnie
0
sassybutterfly_2008
15 years ago
Grand idea Mark! Put me down for 50+. If it's a nice day out, I'll get the kids to help me start the veggie garden that day, also already planning to share with a 'brown-thumbed' neighbor so I'll do it that day as well! Probably let my daughter start her Memorial garden and she's made some new friends in the neighborhood here.. I'm sure they'd enjoy doing a small flowerbed too!

Hugs,
Wendy
0
hazelnutbunny
15 years ago
Ooh! I don't know how many I can do, but I will definitely be putting some out. Get the kiddos up off the couch, and out in to the yard. LOL
0
markcase1964
Original Author
15 years ago
My son has informed me, through his Myspace page, Craig's List, Gardenweb and freecycle, we have confirmation of at least 1800 packs of seeds being distributed and to be planted on Wed, April 22.

Help spread the word. It is a very short time frame, but he is confident that we can make 10,000 packs of seeds being planted in one day.

Mark
0
hazelnutbunny
15 years ago
Mark & Matt~ I know it's not much, but put us down for 20. I have more than that (thanks, KAT!), but I don't want to say I'll plant more, and then get lazy and not do it. LOL
But we'll definitely be doing 20.

Melissa & Zoo
0
gardenmom2
15 years ago
I am already planning on 25 packs and then another 25-40 packs for Thursday (outside) so I can try to get them in on Wed. Put me down for 25 and if I can get to the others I will let you know. I just won't have decen't weather for outside until Thur-Fri-Sat, which is when I will be planting out my lettuce, cabbage, peas, etc........

Awesome Idea. We need to find a date in May and do this again, . That way many more can participate and it gives us time to get seeds to give away and better weather.

I love you idea and hope you make 10, 000.

Good Luck
Nichol
0
jaleeisa
15 years ago
We've already started soaking two types of cannas, two types of sweet peas, a new type (for us) of Morning glories, my Pride of Barbados seeds and I've got my Brazilian Fireworks ready to plant along with several varieties of marigold, forget-me-nots, and we have hostas, dahlias,lily of the valley- white and pink, bleeding heart, and cannas that are bare root (from orders, trades and store bought) and some annuals the boys bought for "now" color, all waiting to be planted on the day :) Plus we have several seeds that will be direct sown.

I also have a HUGE package of French Dwarf Marigolds and Melting Sugar Snow peas along with plastic cups and Jiffy mix ready to go to Devin's class, which has about 20 kids plus his wonderful teacher. And the same for Vince's science class which is about 18 kids and the teacher. So, 42 packets of seeds for Devin's class plus 38 packets for Vince's class in addition to the things we're planting here and We have more seeds to be sown with the neighborhood kids. We're having an Earth Day party here :) I need to have Cliff pick me up another bag of paper cups and another bag of Jiffy mix for the seed sowing.

Devin and Vince are clearing the mulch off of their beds and have decided to amend their soil this afternoon to be ready for all the planting tomorrow. They started clearing the mulch last night and putting it into trash bags to hold it until they get their soil amended and the new seedlings and plants put in, then it will be easy for them to re-mulch everything :) They have been busy little garden bees!

How does that look for your project, Matt? I'll try to get some pictures and post them :)

Kathy
0
sunnyk
15 years ago
I am definitely going to be outside planting some seeds tomorrow...and I am going to add a link to Matt's posting to my Gardening Blog to get the word out.
0
jdkind
15 years ago
Hello
Matt and Mark I'm sorry I can't be much help. Here in westeren Pa It's not seed planting season yet :(.

I do however have 100 sweetpea seeds (harty) that I can put in the ground I'm not sure how you would convert seeds to packs. anything else i try will not make it. they are calling for snowy rain tonight and we do have am frosts untill may.

Joseph
0
markcase1964
Original Author
15 years ago
My son Matt was just on the local news about this project!

He estimates that about 3500 packs are committed for tomorrow from all sources. Facebook, Myspace, freecycle, Gardenweb, North Carolina Science Teachers Association and the Environmental Educator's List Serve.

Matt asked for help. Please ask other Round Robin threads to check it out here! GW can make a big difference tomorrow.

I love the idea for next month again. I mentioned it to him and he is intrigued.

Mark
0
greenthumbgrow
15 years ago
I actually did more than planned. I put out 42 packs. (In milk jugs -hope thats ok. ) I like starting them there and then transferring them once they start to grow (that way i know where the seed is. ) This is not counting the other packs I already did for wsing. Hope that helps.

Tammy
0
diene
15 years ago
Mark;
Sorry, I can't help as it is too early to plant here and the schools are on vacation so double trouble.
If you do it next month I will find a class to adopt and get seeds to them. More notice would have helped.
diene
0
ejmoore510
15 years ago
Mark,
I had already planned to start planting this weekend as soon as the ground dried out from the TON of rain we've had the last 5 days. I'm gonna up my planting time and start tomorrow for Matt's and your project. Count me in for AT LEAST 25 packs of seeds tomorrow in flats and the ground. Also, I'll be putting in rose bushes I picked up on clearance at Wally world for $2.00 and their bulbs are 50% off, so that's $2.50/pack of 1 to 3 tubers usually. I also picked up 3 packs of 20 glads that'll I plant tomorrow. So that's a minimum of 70 bulbs/tubers to go with the seeds. I hope this helps. Be sure and post if you do this again later when the weather is better for seed sowing direct. Thanks.

Joan
0
canyonwind
15 years ago
Mark and Matt,

Outstanding project.....I am planting seeds today...I will post my total later on today/tonight!!

Annie
0
hazelnutbunny
15 years ago
I just clocked in at 25 packs! Yippee!
And the day is still young (and so are the workers!...I mean, kids! LOL!)

Melissa
0
lindaruzicka
15 years ago
Mark,
I'm in the same cold zone as Joseph, western PA..however, I am planting in jugs and I've planted some poppies which like to be planted in cold. I'd say I've planted about 15 packs.

Linda
0
sassybutterfly_2008
15 years ago
32 packs so far... takin' a break to make dinner then I'll be back at it! :)
0
lilangel181
15 years ago
I did my planting this morning before I saw the post (great minds and all...) but was able to get 23 daylilly fans and an aster in the ground before it rained. I dont know how that would count as far as 'seed packs' goes, but count me in for more planting tomorrow when the rain stops!
0
jdkind
15 years ago
matt and mark I planted my 100 seeds and one pack of bulbs.
mark I was wondering can you try to send me an email through gw to see if it's working yet? I check everything when you told me and i thought i had it right!

thanks
Joseph
0
jaleeisa
15 years ago
So far, along with the the packets the boys took to school, we have planted hostas (about 10 of them) 2 bleeding hearts, 10 dahlia tubers, another 10 Allstar Strawberries, another type of canna tuber, marigolds (12 plants), Salvia (12 plants), Snapdragons (36 plants), Dusty Millers (36 plants), Alyssum (36 plants), wave petunias (24 plants),Lily of the Valley- 20 pink, 20 white.

We have also planted marigold seeds - 4 packets (BIG packets), Cannas- two types 4 packages, Brazilian Fireworks 1 packet, Pride of Barbados 1 packet, 10 packets of Morning glories, 10 packets of perennial sweet peas, 5 packets of Forget me Nots, 10 packets of 4 o'clocks, 10 packets of Salvia, 5 packets of Lantana, 5 packets of butterfly weed, 5 packets of Ice plant. That's the count so far today. We're not finished yet, just came in to eat dinner and rest a bit. We'll work inside sowing more flats here in a little while :)

Not sure how you're converting plants to packets of seeds, or how many seeds you're considering a packet. I know that a one of those marigold packets filled 2 72 count flats. But, however you're tallying it up, we've done a LOT of planting today!

So, any ideas on how many carried through today? Or about how close you got to your goal?

Kathy~ heading back to the seed sowing :)
0
sunnyk
15 years ago
Got in packets of zinnias, cosmos,dill, and radishes so todays count was 4 packs. Those on top of what was planted last week,and what I will be planting next week...along with all the seedlings yet to go in and I am almost out of room lol!
0
ncgardengirl
15 years ago
I did 50 packs, I did take pics and will email them to you when I upload them to the computer. I am tired or I would do it now but wanted to let you know I DID plant on the 22nd and what my count was.

:) Fran
0
canyonwind
15 years ago
Today I planted 38 seed packs. I had hoped to plant more but ran out of time. I did manage to also get 30 plants in the ground....more tomorrow and the next day and the next day etc...LOL. Just went outside...the bunnies are hopping all over the place and the snails are surrounding my plants. Lots of good munchies for them.......

Annie
0
jaleeisa
15 years ago
Annie, snails don't like used coffee grounds from what I've been told. just sprinkle it around your plants. Bloodmeal will usually keep rabbits away from what you don't want them nibbling. When I was a younger and we live in the country, we use to sprinkle bloodmeal and hair cut clippings around where we didn't want them. But we always planted a patch for them of greens and bell peppers. That kept them fed, and out of our veggies and flowers/plants.

Thought I'd share in case they became a problem.

Gonna post my pictures from yesterday in a bit. Enjoying that first cup of coffee and gonna go check my veggie bed before getting the next bratling up for school :)

Kathy
0
jaleeisa
15 years ago
As promised, some pictures from our Earth Day activities. Sorry there are so few, it's hard for me to get about in the front yard and I wasn't able to go to the boys' schools and take pictures there.

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: Walker clan Earth Day 2009
0
highalttransplant
15 years ago
So Mark, what was the final tally?

BTW, the Dirt Cake was a big hit at my son's preschool.

Bonnie
0
flwrs4ever
15 years ago
Hi mark, this site kept freezing on me last night, but I DID do 18 packs of seeds on Earth day.

I hope your sons project went well.

Kym
0
dan_the_mailman
15 years ago
On Monday, I'm sending over 300 silver maple seedlings to another gw member so he can reforest his land. You can add those to the total Mark.
-Dan
0

Earth Day April 22 2009

Comments (32)

markcase1964
Original Author

greenthumbgrow

Related Discussions

jaleeisa

ncgardengirl

highalttransplant

sassybutterfly_2008

hazelnutbunny

markcase1964
Original Author

hazelnutbunny

gardenmom2

jaleeisa

sunnyk

jdkind

markcase1964
Original Author

greenthumbgrow

diene

ejmoore510

canyonwind

hazelnutbunny

lindaruzicka

sassybutterfly_2008

lilangel181

jdkind

jaleeisa

sunnyk

ncgardengirl

canyonwind

jaleeisa

jaleeisa

highalttransplant

flwrs4ever

dan_the_mailman

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Earth Day April 22 2009

Comments (32)

markcase1964Original Author

Related Discussions

markcase1964Original Author

markcase1964Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

markcase1964
Original Author

markcase1964
Original Author

markcase1964
Original Author