SCHA Press May-June 2016

Spring Garage Sale Friday, May 13 - Saturday, May 14 READY, SET, GO - clean out that basement and garage and make a little moola for your effort. SCHA is holding the annual spring garage sale and it is open to all SCHA Members. Register online to participate at SchaWheaton.com, or complete the included form.

Travel Tip According to an article in AARP magazine, you

are most likely to get the lowest fares on travel

if you buy your ticket on a weekend based on a

new report analyzing 10 billion ticket

transactions. Tuesday follows as the best

weekday and Friday is usually the most

expensive.

Mail Gift Cards Safely

Do you often choose a greeting card with a

colored envelope? Bright envelopes make

greeting cards easy to distinguish from other

types of mail. And, just a quick bend test is likely

to indicate if a gift card is enclosed. Instead, mail

your cards that include gift cards in white

envelopes.

Upcoming SCHA Events

Ice Cream Social - August 10 More details coming in next newsletter! To lend a hand, contact Mike Harbert.

michael_harbert@hotmail.com

Sandbagger Scramble Friday, August 12th OR Friday, August 19th

More details coming soon!

Fall Garage Sale – October TBD

Halloween Party – October TBD

SCHA Annual Homeowners Meeting – Nov TBD

Santa Visits – Dec TBD

Holiday Decorating Contest – Dec TBD

Oh No Another Password to Remember!

Remembering so many online account passwords has become almost impossible in todays connected world. Even creating strong passwords can be challenging. To the rescue are todays new software programs for your computer, or apps for your mobile phone. With these programs, you only need to remember 1 password - how to get into your password program. On a personal note, I began using an app called Keeper on my mobile phone two years ago. It took me a few hours one weekend to get all my accounts and passwords entered. But, today I always have the password I need at my fingertips. So much quicker than trying to find that paper list, or a file on the computer (a definite no, no). This recent article in PC Magazine online provides details and cost for several of the best password managers. “Best Password Managers for 2016” http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407168,00.asp

Wheaton Park District Events

May 7 - Go Fly a Kite 10am-2pm Graf Park

May 11 - Downtown Wheaton Walking Culinary Tour

May 25 - Step in Time Dancers present Happy Daze with a 50’s and 60’s

review - Community Center

June 2-5 - Taste of Wheaton - 4 days of entertainment and fun!

June 4 - Cozley Zoo 5K/10K Run for the Animals

June 18 - Fish-O-Rama 8am-11am Northside Park

June 24 - U Rock Battle of the Bands - 6pm-9pm Memorial Park

July 1-31 - Music Mondays - Live music in Memorial Park

Visit http://wheatonparkdistrict.com/ for more information.

Happening Around Wheaton

1 Nicor Project Beginning Soon

2 ComEd Issues Scam Alert

3 New Online Water/Sewer Billing System in Place

4 Wheaton City Manager Announces Retirement

5 Don’t Pour Cooking Oil Down the Drain: Bring it Here

6 Environmental Commission Seeks Members

7 New Ordinance Applies to E-Cigarettes

8 New Ordinance Sets Limits on Garage Sales

9 Monthly Electronic Recycling Drop-Off Places Restriction on TVs

10 Stay Informed – Have City News Delivered to Your Email Inbox

More information on these events can be found on the City of Wheaton website.

Stonehedge Garden Club

Like gardening? Master or newbie? Everyone is welcome. Join us!

NEXT MEETINGS!

MAY - in lieu of a meeting, National Public Gardens option information below. JUNE 14 - 7-9 pm Sharon Sboray will host flower arranging JULY 7 - 3-7 pm??? - Our SECOND (!!!) Garden Walk. AUGUST 16 - 7-9 pm - Host Pat Hanika asks everyone to bring a recipe from their garden veggies; possible field trip to learn how to makie hypertoufa (cement aggregate) planters.

National Public Gardens Day (May meeting)

This message is a reminder to those of you who attended our last garden club meeting at Anita's home on Tuesday, April 19th and it's an invitation to those of you who weren't able to attend. May 6th is National Public Gardens Day and to celebrate, the beautiful gardens at Cantigny will be open to the public free of charge. The group will meet at 1974 Somerset Lane, at 10:00 am to carpool over to Cantigny. Lunch at the Tea Room on the grounds afterward. For those of you who weren't at the April meeting and would like to attend the walk-about at Cantigny, please contact ccswe@comcast.net regarding more details and to be included in the lunch reservations. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather! See our Garden Club flyer on “Starting an Edible Garden” at the SCHA website.

College of Dupage Spring Plant Sale

May 13-14, 9am-3pm

May 16-18, 10am-5pm

College of DuPage Greenhouse

425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn

Want to contribute to our newsletter?

Do you like to write?

We welcome contributions to the SCHA

newsletter. Please contact Pat Hanika at

plhanika@gmail.com if you are interested, or

would like to submit local interest pieces you

feel would be valuable to residents.

S t o n e h e d g e C o m m u n i t y H o m e o w n e r s A s s o c i a t i o n

ANNUAL Spring

Friday, May 13th • Saturday, May 14th

Clean out your garage, basement, closets, drawers etc. and make a little extra cash, plus hangout with your neighbors during the annual SCHA Spring Garage Sale. SCHA will advertise the garage sale in local publications like the Daily Herald, Suburban Life, Chicago Tribune, Craig’s List etc., so it’s a great time for you to participate. Back this year! We will have a truck available to pick up any unsold items you wish to donate. Specifics will be emailed to you if you are interested.

Please register by Monday, May 9th to ensure your household is included on the map and that you receive a Garage Sale Kit (maps and signs). Kits will be available for pick-up on Thurs., May 12th.

Three ways to register: 1. Online (preferred): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SDW86SB 2. Email Christine Fenne at cfenne@alphagraphics.com indicating your name, address, phone #,

which day(s) you’ll participate and any items you’d like to highlight 3. Complete the below form and drop it off at 1923 Sherwood Place

You will receive a registration confirmation. If you don’t receive confirmation by Tues, May 10 please contact Christine at 630-404-0981. Garage Sale Kits available for pick-up on Thurs, May 12th at Liz Hunka’s 1951 Chatham. Thank you to Beth Seibert of BHHS Koenig Rubloff Realty for providing the fabulous Sale Signs and Sales Kit bags filled with extra goodies!

Name: __________________________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________________

Phone & Email: ___________________________________________________________________

Noteworthy items to be listed on the map _________________________________________

Need more room? Continue on the back!

Please circle the days you’ll participate: Friday Saturday

Mark your choice: I would like to donate unsold items to a local non-profit and have them picked up from my doorstep after the sale! YES! No, thanks anyway.

APR14Jump Start Your Edible Garden herbs, cold tolerant, vegetables, ediblesWhether you are just starting out growing edibles or you grow so many you can start your own CSA Farm (community supported agriculture) early spring edibles are a wonderful way to get some home-grown veggies while you wait for your tomatoes and peppers.

You’re probably familiar with popular favorites like lettuce, cabbage, and kale but what about adding some edible spring perennials? Some of our favorites include Chives, French Sorrel, Rhubarb, Asparagus, Egyptian Walking Onion, and even Strawberries!

temp-post-imageChives are a great low maintenance kitchen garden herb that loves the sun. Grow them near your kitchen door in a garden bed or container so they are easy to reach from early spring all the way through the growing season. They have a mild onion or garlic flavor and their edible lavender flowers are considered a delicacy.

French Sorrel is the first green to perk up in spring and the last to lose its usefulness in winter. Its bright green leaves are high in Vitamin C and the slightly sour taste of the leaves combine well with chicken, fish, and eggs. Cut its distinctive sword-shaped leaves as you need them and allow the plant to regrow after each harvest. It likes full sun and moist soil, but will adapt to other conditions.

Rhubarb is considered the first ‘fruit’ of spring. The thick, fleshy stalks of this stately plant are used for sauces, wine, pie, and jam. However, do not eat Rhubarb leaves, they are poisonous. Given full sun, well-drained soil rich in organic matter and a yearly application of composted manure, it will last a lifetime.

Asparagus can be planted in rows in the vegetable garden or decoratively in the garden. Its foliage is fernlike and provides a beautiful background for other plants. They need full sun, and because they remain in place for many years, the soil should be prepared very well. (A handout is available at both locations on how to prepare the soil and successfully plant them.) We have both bare-root and potted plants in two varieties developed for our area.

Egyptian Walking Onions are an interesting and very hardy perennial onion. They are sometimes called winter onions and produce as soon as the snow melts until they covered again with snow the following winter. The entire plant is edible with green leaves (scallions) produced all season and clusters of small bulblets produced on top of the flower stalks. As the bulblets grow they weigh down the stems, pulling it to the ground where they grow new plants. You can also eat the underground bulbs. It has a robust flavor without the ‘bite’ of stronger onions. They are a cross between onions that form large bulbs and bunching onions and are heirlooms said to date back to the 1850s.

Other types of onions are also available as onion sets are also available now at both locations and can be directly sown into the soil for green onions this spring. Plant the sets almost touching each other and harvest them before crowding becomes an issue. To develop white stems on your onions, mound loose soil up gently around the new plants when they are about

four inches tall. By blocking sunlight, the stems will turn white. Green onions can be harvested as soon as the leaves are about six inches high, and they develop stronger flavor as they age.

temp-post-imageStrawberries are a favorite of just about everyone! Easy to grow in any sunny location, and even in a container. Combine a spring-bearing variety with an ever-bearing type to have some to harvest all season long. If you are limited in space, try growing the Alpine Strawberries. They form neat clumps and can be used as an edible edging in the flower garden.

Of course, you can’t forget about leafy crops like lettuce, spinach and kale and also legumes like peas. These veggies can be directly sown into the soil as soon as the soil is workable. Lettuce and spinach crops germinate quickly, giving you fresh salad greens in about two weeks. Peas, depending on the variety, take about two months to truly produce, so starting them early means you can enjoy them the beginning of June.

With all these options, it’s easy to enjoy fresh edibles, even in early spring!