Category Archives: Gardening

It’s spring!  It is time for gardening again.
On Sunday, May 20, starting at 11am, the Hillsdale Community Garden
will be reopened for a new and exciting fifth season. The Community Garden
is located on Glendale Ave., behind the Hillsdale Post Office, at McSpirit Park in Hillsdale.

The Community Garden and Kids/Teens for Earth, a division of United For Earth, will welcome new volunteers of all ages, prepare new beds, put up the fence, and plant vegetables, herbs and flowers in our organic garden. Please join us at this event and help make Hillsdale a greener community. No previous gardening experience is necessary.

This season, the Hillsdale Community Garden will be offering a variety of hands-on, educational workshops and events for children and adults, which will include butterfly gardening, permaculture, growing and using herbs, companion planting, flood-tolerant plants for gardens and more. Stop by at our opening to find out more about registering for these programs. For further information, please email ejscholl@verizon.net

The School of Continuing Education invites you to the
Environmentally Friendly Sustainable Landscapes Conference
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Admission is free, Registration is required.

Bergen Community College 
Technology Education Center
Moses Family Meeting and Training Center (TEC-128)
400 Paramus Road, Paramus, NJ 07652

Agenda
6:00pm – 6:30pm: Registration and networking
6:30pm – 6:45pm: Opening remarks
7:00pm – 8:00pm: Breakout Sessions

Track 1
Organic Lawn Care/Sustainable Gardens 
Organic, non-toxic practices are better for your lawn over the long haul. Chemicals give your lawn an artificial boost, but deplete your soil of important nutrients. Organic materials do the opposite. They feed the soil, which then provides a consistent and sustainable food source for the grass. Overtime,
your lawn will need little maintenance as it becomes sustainable.
You may have to accept some clover, dandelions and other native plants, but they certainly will not take over your lawn. Did you know that clover is actually a great natural nitrogen source for your soil?

Track 2
Xeriscape (Water-Efficient) Gardening 
Presented by Sonja Clark, Director of Community Relations, United Water
Xeriscaping, also known as drought-tolerant landscaping or smart-scaping, is a method of landscape design that minimizes water usage. Outdoor sprinklers can account for 40 percent of household water use during the summer. With simple and easy Xeriscape landscaping, you may be able to reduce your outside water use by 50 to 60 percent.

By selecting drought-tolerant plants and using water-wise gardening techniques, you can
_ Reduce your outdoor water use
_ Create a colorful, natural garden
_ Spend less time on garden maintenance

Track 3
Beautifying with Permeable Hardscapes 
Presented by Chris Murray, Resident Regional Manager Cambridge Pavers
Professionals – Presentation is valid for 1 health, safety, and welfare credit
Permeable hardscapes are designed to minimize the runoff and pollutants to storm water management systems during rainstorms. In addition, they increase the amount of groundwater being recharged and made available for other uses. Introduction of their use in landscape design creates aesthetically pleasing entertainment areas providing increased leisure time through decreased maintenance time and increased home value.

Hillsdale Community Garden, Kids/Teens for Earth and Green Team Hillsdale are sponsoring a ‘Seed Starting Workshop’ at the Hillsdale Library
on Sunday, March 4 at 1:30pm.

Learn about starting seeds successfully indoors, to get a head start on your garden and save money. Materials will be provided to start your own herb, vegetable or flower garden.

$5 donation for individuals, $10 per family (payable at workshop) to cover the cost of materials. Please register with number of participants attending at ejscholl@verizon.net. Adults and children welcome.

The Hillsdale Green Team, in collaboration with the Hillsdale Community Garden, will present a free program on permaculture gardening at the Hillsdale Library on Thursday, November 3, from 7-8:30pm.
It is open to anyone who is interested and all are welcome.

Permaculture is a holistic approach to landscape design and human culture. It is an attempt to integrate several disciplines, including biology, ecology, geography, agriculture, architecture, appropriate technology, gardening and community building. Three local permaculture gardeners will introduce the topic, explain why and how permaculture is beneficial to us and to the environment, and how permaculture techniques can be incorporated into the suburban garden.

Colin Keegan received his permaculture design certificate in 2008, and
has since applied permaculture design in the fields of organic farming
and suburban homesteading, as well as at the Hillsdale Community Garden.
He has lectured on the topic for various non-profit organizations and at
Ramapo College.
Charlie Zelhof ‘s permaculture garden in Hackensack has been featured at www.nativebergen.com. He will speak on practical home-scale application of permaculture techniques.
Kevin Brennan is a senior at Westwood High School, and has been involved in several permaculture projects, at locations including the Hillsdale Community Garden, Westwood High School and his family’s home in Westwood.
For further information on the program, contact Elizabeth Scholl at
ejscholl@verizon.net