JUST GROW IT!!! Big Seed Giveaway from Botanical Interests

SEED GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED TO ENTRIES!!!!

I have deleted all the non-entry comments so as to get a more accurate count of the entries…  Just a note:  I tried to contact most folks who put all their entries in one comment to ask them to return and create multiple comments — one comment for each entry, as per the rules.  If I wasn’t able to contact you, I’m sorry!!  All winners chosen through a random number generator (from http://www.random.org).  Oldest entry is #1, newest is #323.  First selected gets first choice.  I will post both on my Facebook page and on here as I select winners.

1. The first winner is comment #64, Melissa K!! The entry that won it was for her subscribing to the Botanical Interests newsletter. She wanted the Can You Dig It? Children’s Gardening Kit for she and her children to use in their new home! (The kit was by far the #1 choice of winners!)
2. The second winner is comment #173, Vickie!  She said that she would like the Can You Dig It? kit as well, which was the choice of the first winner… So I have sent an e-mail out to Vickie asking her what her second choice would be.
3. The third winner is comment #165, Cindy in GA.  She also wanted the children’s kit.  After Vickie (winner #2) chooses, Cindy will get her choice of the remaining prizes.
4. The fourth winner is comment #303, Alex.  Alex will get whichever prize remains after Vickie and Cindy have chosen!

I WANT YOU TO GROW THINGS.

I want you to try your hand at gardening, even if gardening means putting a few seeds into a windowsill pot and hoping they sprout.

I have found that most people, when they find I love gardening, say something like, “I’ve always wanted to do that…”  Or, “My mother had such an amazing garden.  I wish I could…”

There are so many rewards to gardening!!  I dearly want to help you overcome the typical reasons I’ve encountered for not gardening, like…

• Not enough space.
• Intimidated by lack of experience.
• “I don’t have anyone to teach me!”
• “I know a lot of people who have tried to garden and failed.”
• Not enough time.
• Not enough money to invest into a garden.
• It just seems like a huge hassle…

Honestly, I’ve had to battle my own gardening challenges and disappointments.  The home into which we moved, July 2012, has ample space for a really big garden, but we decided to prioritize remodeling the indoors before we tackle the yard.  We live on nearly half an acre, but as I recently blogged, it takes a LOT of work to prepare the soil to grow things, here in the Phoenix area.  You can’t just scatter seed and expect it to do something.

So, for the time being, I’ve resorted to container gardening.  I have some raised boxes that are currently growing some veggies and herbs, and some containers that are waiting for my indoor starts to be ready to transplant.  This almost doesn’t feel like “real” gardening to me, when my previous garden looked like this:

My old garden…. I miss it…

But…  I am often encouraging friends to just grow SOMETHING.  Just try.

I want to equip you to try your hand at growing something.

I was recently thinking about how much I love Botanical Interests.  They’re a seed company whose home is just outside of Denver, Colorado.

• They’re family-owned.
• All of their seeds are non-GMO.
• Many of their seeds are organic.
• Many of their seeds are heirloom (Meaning you can collect, save, and re-plant the seeds from the veggies you grew from the originally-purchased seeds.  With hybrids, this is not possible.  Being the cheapskate that I am, I save as many seeds as I can, though I have much to learn about seed-saving!!)
• I love that I can find Botanical Interests’ seeds locally.
• They have fabulous customer service.
• The art on their seed packets is gorgeous.
• The information on their seed packets is second-to-none:  It is detailed, helpful, and educational.
• I love that their seeds are reasonably priced, even the organic ones.

Having a wee bit of a brainstorm after not winning this giveaway, I thought that perhaps Botanical Interests would sponsor a seed giveaway on MY blog.  Happily, they quickly agreed!  In fact, they agreed to a BIG seed giveaway!!

There are FOUR separate prizes which will go to four winners and TEN ways you can enter.  Yes, you can enter ten separate times.  But, you can only win one prize.

First, the prizes (click on the titles for more information from Botanical Interests):

1. Can You Dig It?  Children’s Gardening Kit.  This retails for $29.99 and is a package that includes a colorfully illustrated instruction book, garden supply list, planting map, horticultural glossary, a reusable harvesting bag and garden markers.  The seed packets included in this collection are:  Carrot Baby Little Finger, Tomato Cherry Gardener’s Delight, Lettuce Butterhead Tom Thumb, Bean Bush Blue Lake 274, Radish Cherry Belle, and Marigold Dwarf Lemon Drop.  This would be perfect for a homeschooling project, a weekend family project, or as a project to do with your preschoolers!  You and your children can learn together!!
   
   

   Can You Dig It? Kit

2. Water-Wise Flower Mix.  Two large packets of seeds, enough to cover a total of about 500 square feet with water-wise color, both annuals and perennials.  It contains a mix of 20 different flowers like Arroyo Lupine, Sulphur Cosmos, Orange California Poppy, Moss Verbena, and Pink Evening Primrose.  Retail value:  $9.98.
   

   Water-Wise Mix

3. Container Vegetable Seed Collection This collection retails for $15.00 and contains eight packets of seed, all selected to grow well in containers or other small spaces.  Included are:  Carrot Tonda di Parigi, Cucumber Spacemaster, Kale Dwarf Blue Curled, Lettuce Mesclun Farmer’s Market Blend, Onion Bunching/Scallion Tokyo Long White, Pepper Sweet Cherry Blend, Spinach Lavewa, and Tomato Bush Better Bush.
   

   Container Vegetable Collection (and yes, it comes in the cute, beribboned box)

4. Karen’s Selection for February-March planting in the Phoenix area.  With a (small bit of) knowledge of what is likely to grow well in the Sonoran Desert, and using the reliable, indispensable University of Arizona Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County, I have personally selected a eleven varieties that are perfect for late-February and/or March planting.  Of course, you don’t have to be in the desert to plant these gems, but the seeds, some good compost, some water, and the spring Arizona sunshine should net you some great veggies in a couple of months, right about the time that most people in cooler climates are starting to plant!  Nine of the the eleven varieties can be direct-seeded:  You plant them directly into the soil of your garden;  no need for starting them indoors.  Included in this package are:  Organic Greek Yevani Basil, Heirloom Pencil Pod Yellow bush beans, Organic Heirloom Gourmet Blend beets, Heirloom White Stem bok choy, Spacemaster cucumbers, Organic Heirloom Hearts of Gold cantaloupe, Heirloom Tokyo Long White green onions (scallions), Organic Heirloom Early Jalapeno peppers, Organic Heirloom Cherry Belle radish, Heirloom Tatuma Calabacita summer squash, and Organic Heirloom Italian Roma tomatoes.  (Approximate retail value $23.00.)
   

   Tatuma Calabacita — this WILL become your new favorite summer squash.

Now… here are the TEN DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN ENTER!  Please leave ONE comment for each entry.  Yes, that means you may end up leaving a whole bunch of comments.  That’s OK.  There is no maximum number of times to enter;  I would be tickled if you did every single thing on the list.  Also, if the entry requires you to take some action, do it BEFORE you comment.  In each comment, tell me what you did.

1. Post a comment below telling me which prize you’d most like to win, and why.
2. Like Only Sometimes Clever on Facebook.
3. Like Botanical Interests on Facebook.
4. Post a link to this contest on your personal Facebook profile.  (Shortlink:  http://wp.me/p1wkS-Z2)
5. Post a link to this contest on your Facebook page — other than your personal profile (for instance, if you own a company, or have a blog, or moderate a group that has its own Facebook page).
6. Post a link to this contest on Pinterest.
7. Write a little blurb and include a link on your personal blog.
8. Send out a Tweet promoting this contest with a link.
9. Download a PDF catalog or request a print catalog from Botanical Interests.
10. Subscribe to Botanical Interests’ eNewsletter.  (Enter your e-mail address in the box on the right-hand side of Botanical Interests’ home page.)

Contest ends at midnight, Mountain Standard Time, on Wednesday, February 13, 2013.
Four winners will be selected at random on Thursday, February 14.  I will contact the winners by e-mail, so make sure you include a valid e-mail in your comment registration.  First selected will have first choice, second will have second, and so on.
If winners do not respond within three days, I will select a new winner (or winners) at my discretion.  All prizes will be awarded.
Giveaway open to legal United States residents aged 18 and over.
Odds of winning depend on how many entries are received.
Winners agree to have their first names and locations published here on Only Sometimes Clever.
This contest is being sponsored by Botanical Interests, and the prizes provided by their generosity.  However, I am not being compensated for this in any way!!  It really is because I want you to GROW SOMETHING!!!

Sponsored by Botanical Interests, Inc.  660 Compton St., Broomfield, Colorado, 80020

CHEAP, natural cleaners for your home

There are a lot of resources (including recipes) on the internet for all sorts of natural cleaners.  I still get asked frequently, though, about what I use.

So, here’s what I do.

First, gather your ingredients:

• Baking soda.  I buy baking soda at Costco in 13.5 lb bags, about $6.50 per bag.
  

  On sale right now at Vitacost for $4.53.

• White (distilled) vinegar.  I also buy this at Costco.  It comes in a 1.33 gallon size, about $3.75.
• Essential oil.  I buy this at Sprouts — there are a lot of online resources for essential oil, too.  Depending on the oil, it will run you $4-15 per 0.5 oz dropper jar.  I typically buy tangerine or lavender, both because I like the scent and because they’re one of the less-expensive varieties.  Various essential oils are supposed to accomplish various things (for example, lavender has disinfectant properties and is calming), but I just buy them for the scent.
• A natural, phosphate-free dishwashing liquid.  I like the kind from Trader Joe’s, but you can find it just about anywhere.  Method, Meyer’s Clean Day, Seventh Generation, even Clorox Green Works is fine.  Just not Dawn or Palmolive or the like;  they contain chemical detergents and dyes and scents that aren’t good for you or for the environment and just don’t work when you’re using it as an ingredient to make a household cleaner.

Now, make your cleaners:

• For my Everything Cleaner:  Fill a 32 oz squirt bottle about 60% full of white vinegar.  Add about 20 drops of essential oil.  Add about 1 tsp dishwashing liquid.  Top bottle with filtered water.  Shake gently.  This cleaner literally works on everything non-porous:  toilets, counter tops, windows, mirrors, stainless steel, whatever.  And, it’s non-toxic, so use it without fear in the kitchen.  The vinegar is a disinfectant, so if that’s important to you, let the cleaner sit on the surface for a while before wiping down.  If you notice streaking on windows, mirrors, and stainless steel, you’re using too much dish soap.
• For things that need scrubbing:  Baking soda.  That’s it.  If you want to get fancy, fill a bowl with baking soda and add 10-20 drops of essential oil.  Store in a shaker jar.  Use this to clean out tubs, sinks, cook tops, ovens, etc.  This also works as a stink-remover on carpet and furniture.  Sprinkle, let sit for a while, then vacuum off.
• For floors:  A squirt of dish soap in a bucket of hot water.  For floors that are NOT a natural stone, add a cup of white vinegar.  You don’t need a fancy, expensive floor cleaner.
• For laundry:  For about two years, I made my own laundry soap;  I don’t any more.  I now buy Costco’s Kirkland brand “environmentally friendly” laundry detergent.  It is scented (much to my surprise when I first purchased it).  To the bottom of each tub of laundry, I add 1/2 cup of baking soda.  I fill the fabric softener compartment with white vinegar.  The white vinegar is especially effective if you live in an area that has hard water, and/or if your family suffers from eczema and you need all soap residue removed from clothing.  If your washing machine does not have an extra rinse/fabric softener cycle, when your clothes are washed, run an additional rinse cycle, adding 1/2 cup of white vinegar.  I use regular ol’ unscented bleach on my whites.  I do not use fabric softener in the dryer.  Don’t need it.  Our clothes aren’t as highly scented as if I were using Tide and Downy, but they are CLEAN and what I’m doing is better for our skin and our environment, not to mention cheaper.

Where I do use purchased cleaners:

• Murphy’s Oil Soap.  I still use this on wood surfaces like kitchen cabinets.
• Method Wood For Good Furniture Polish.  I like the scent, I like the shine.  It works well.
• Lysol toilet bowl cleaner.  You can use bleach or even baking soda, but the Cling variety of toilet bowl cleaner is still my old standby.
• Dishwasher detergent.  I typically buy Palmolive Eco+.

There are folks who make their own dish soap, their own dishwashing detergent, their own laundry detergent…  I have experimented with all of those.  But from a cost + effort + effectiveness, at least for now, these are the things I have found to be the best choice for our family.