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September 9, 2011
 “By far the best proof is experience.” ~ Sir Francis Bacon
There is no substitute for experience.
I worked on my first paver patio in the summer of 1988. The commonly accepted school of thought at the time was that a properly installed paver patio or sidewalk was virtually maintenance free. Paving stones are set on a minimum of 4” of compacted crushed limestone and a 1” bedding layer of coarse sand, with sand swept into the top joints. Weeds are definitely not coming up from below, but contrary to the early literature, experience has taught us that weed seeds will germinate in the sand-filled joints. Patio owners faced with this problem are often over-whelmed by the concept of spending a day on hands and knees physically pulling each individual weed. As organic gardeners we will not even consider spraying some poisonous herbicide on a surface where we serve meals and our children play.
Within the last decade, there has been a new product introduced that will eliminate most, if not all, of the weed growth and the ant activity that occurs in paver joints. The product is “polymeric sand” and goes by many different brand names. It is basically a silica sand with a bonding agent that causes it to set up “rubbery hard”. This maintains the patio’s ability to flex with the freeze and thaw and not crack and break like concrete or mortar. It can be applied at the time of installation, but today we are discussing the existing patio that is filled with weeds. To rejuvenate an old, weed-infested patio:
1) Pull or cut any existing weed growth. Depending on the species of weed and the extent of the growth, the best bet is usually to use a string trimmer to cut the weeds off close to the paver surface and sweep up all of the debris. The weeds that take root in tiny joints usually tend to be toughest to pull!
2) With a good quality pressure washer and the narrowest stream nozzle available, carefully, patiently, even painstakingly wash out every joint in the patio. You hope to remove the weed roots as well as silt and sediment that has built up in the joint. At the same time clean the surface of all of the pavers.
3) Allow the surface to thoroughly dry. I recommend 24 hours if possible.
4) We do not proceed with this step unless the pavers are completely dry, the air temperature is above 45 degrees and there is less than a 40 percent chance of rain. Apply the polymeric sand and sweep thoroughly into all joints.
5) Use a leaf blower on a very low or idle setting and remove any dry product from the surface of the pavers. This is very important, because any sand left on the surface will stick to the surface when moistened.
6) Moisten the sand in the joints with a light mist. This is best done in several stages: wet the product, let it absorb for a few seconds, repeat. There should never be pooling of water on the pavers.
7) Stay off of the patio for as close to 24 hours a possible to let the product cure.
The result is a bright, clean patio that looks like new and should stay that way for years to come. In even more recent years, there has been a product introduced to apply to even larger joints, such as those that occur with a natural flagstone or Pennsylvania Bluestone patios. The one we use is called “gator dust” and I think the results are even better than the polymeric sand. It can also be used at the time of installation or applied later with the steps outlined above.
If you have experienced weeds in your paver or flagstone patio and did not know where to start, please contact the landscaping department at Marvin’s Organic Gardens to discuss this issue or set up a time for someone to come out to your home.
 1.With all the new food and manure waste we have been receiving at our organic recycling center, our newly made compost is the best ever! This is a great time of year to apply 1″-2″ of compost to your lawn and garden areas to alleviate compacted soil and rejuvenate tired gardens and lawns.
2.The garlic bulbs for fall will be in on the second week of September, just in time to plant in your fall gardens and around roses to help keep the bugs away naturally! We have 4 varieties of certfied organic garlic so that you can cater to all the full flavor range garlic offers. All varieties will be ready for harvest in July, or sooner if you choose to eat the young scapes.
3. Cover crops are used to fix nitrogen and enrich garden soil as well as preventing soil from erosion over the winter. Cover crops also help reduce weeds and attract beneficial insects. Some choices we now offer are: Red Clover, Rye & Vetch mix,& Field Peas/Oats mix. If you do not plant a fall crop, sow the cover crop mixed with 50% sand to 50% seed and rake lightly into upper crust of soil.
4. Chrysanthemum and asters will be ready to plant for fall color and we will have a large color variety for you to choose from.
5. From mid September to late October is your best time to plant grass seed in our region. A mix of tall fescue grass seed grows well here with its deep roots and durable dark green grass blades. If you need to spot seed, scratch or rough up the ground with a hard rake and spread and inch of compost in area and spread seed into the bare spot. Keep evenly moist until seed germinates, which is typically 2-3 weeks. Do not mow newly seeded areas for 8 weeks minimum because the mower will disturb fragile young grass roots.
6. Fall is the best time of year for planting all woody plants such as trees and shrubs, and also a good time to plant perennials. By planting now, you give your plants fall, winter and spring to establish roots before the next hot summer arrives.
7. To increase interest in your yard, select plants for fall color. Perennials such as Blue Star have blazing yellow fall color and animate your garden with wispy foliage. Most ornamental grasses add hues of reds, oranges, tans, purples and yellows that will light your fall garden in an array of textural interest. Shrubs such as Red and Black Chokeberry are regional natives and have a deeper red fall color than Burning Bush, with the added benefit of edible fruit for you and the birds. Trees like Oak not only attract the greatest diversity of butterflies and moths to your garden (which brings in the birds), but also offer incredible fall color late into the season.
8.In the retail center we are featuring a local organic hand made soap, some of which are made with strawberry seed, coffee grounds, lemon grass and rosemary that make this wonderful smelling soap an excellent gift for you and your friends and family!
9. In the garden center we once again offering a taste of the season with our own farm raised honey: light colored, mild flavored & delicious. Many of our friends use our local honey seasonally, to help reduce the affects of allergens spawning from local pollen. Our honey is harvested on our certified organic farm by bee keeper Bill Slater. He will be here to speak about bee keeping and honey production on 9/24/11 from 1-2pm. Bee sure to bee here early to get a seat, this one is always a poplar presentation!
10. We are now please to offer Biochar, an ancient organic gardening product used by farmers in the Amazon Rain Forest for centuries to promote sustainable agriculture. Simply mix Biochar into your vegetable, herb beds and container gardens at a rate a 10 pounds of Biochar per 1000 square feet. Dig into the upper 12″ of soil for best results. Some of the benefits include: better nutrient holding capacity, increased drought tolerance, higher crop yields, reduce pest challenges and improved soil aeration and drainage.
 Catch rain water from your roof to water your gardens. We also offer a quick connect system to hook your rain barrel conveniently to a downspout, which is easy to install, even for a novice. Our barrels will hold either, 55, 60 or 75 gallons of water. Your plants will love the chlorine and flourine free rain water.
ON SALE NOW – 30% OFF
 Fall is the best time to plant trees, and oaks are an exceptionally good choice with their incredible fall color, durability, ability to provide shade and attract the largest diversity of beneficial butterflies, moths and birds. Because oaks have extremely hard wood, they can be planted within
20 feet of your home to provide wind block and reduce your air conditioning needs in the summer. You will leave a legacy behind when you plant an oak tree, because they can live for hundreds of years, helping to add oxygen and removing Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere, lessening
the affects of global warming. Oaks are truly a Giving Tree.
ON SALE NOW – 35% OFF
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds organic winter squash, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 organic golden flesh potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2-3 cups organic milk
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil a 2-quart baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, Cheddar, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Layer one-third of the squash, onion, potatoes, and fennel in the prepared baking dish. Dust with one-third of the flour mixture. Continue layering all 3 layers, finishing with the flour mixture. Pour the milk over all. Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until the vegetables are very tender and the gratin is golden brown. If the top browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe Source: http://organictobe.org/
 Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the low humming buzz of a bee as it flies past makes some people a little bit jumpy, but bees are our helpers in the garden. See, they visit flowers, gathering up nectar to make honey, but their fuzzy little bodies also pick up pollen (that yellowy dust that sticks to your nose when you sniff a flower). Bees carry the pollen from one flower to another, dropping some off, picking some up, gathering nectar and nutrients from the plants to take back to the hive. This process of moving pollen from flower to flower is called pollination, and its how lots of plants make fruit (that we love to eat, like apples and peaches and cherries, Oh My!) They make honey by spreading out the nectar allowing water to evaporate into the air, leaving the thicker, yummy substance we eat called honey!
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE honey. Bees do too, and that’s why they spend so much time making it. They eat honey all winter and then, in the spring, when things warm up again, the bees come back out to make more. But in the last few years, beekeepers (the people who go out and collect all that yummy honey) have noticed their bees are sick. Some are dying. And that’s no good for people like us (friends of the bee). If the bees die, we lose lots of the foods we love to eat, like watermelon, blueberry, and tomato, not to mention honey.
Do you want to help the bees? There are things you can do. Tell your family about the importance of bees and other pollinators (like hummingbirds and butterflies). Give native plants a try; the pawpaw fruit, American persimmon, grape, and lots of other treats are especially adapted to grow in North America. They are good for us, and lots of other critters (especially the bees!) Ask your parents or guardians to stop using pesticides. A pesticide tries to get rid of bad bugs in our garden, but sometimes it hurts the good bugs in our yard too (plus they smell icky and stay around for a loooooooong time).
Interested in learning more?!?
Join Marvin’s Organic Gardens on September 24th for an afternoon with the bees. Our beekeeper will be here to answer questions, followed by a viewing of the award-winning documentary Queen of the Sun. Check out the trailer here and join us on September 24th from 1-2 pm. Bee there or bee square!
Do you like bees? Tell us why on Marvin’s Organic Gardens Facebook page (with your parent’s permission, of course) and you could win tickets to the Cincinnati Nature Center!
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