Meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 12 noon at the Saraland Chamber Offices.
Welcome to Keep Saraland Beautiful
Keep Saraland Beautiful Yard of
the Month
Selections will rotate monthly to different parts of the city. The yard must have some seasonal color and one or more specimen trees. For full criteria and pictures of past Yards of the Month click the button below.
Adopt-A-Spot
Adopt-A-Spot is a part of Keep Saraland Beautiful, Inc. Our mission is to improve the natural beauty of Saraland with landscaped green spaces along Saraland Boulevard and Industrial Parkway and to improve civic pride in the business district of the City of Saraland.
The Keep Saraland Beautiful organization received its national certification as an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful in December 1999. This is a non-profit public education organization dedicated to preserving the natural beauty and environment of America and improving the waste handling practiced at the community level. It is a community based approach to changing the attitude and practices relating to litter and waste handling. The prime purpose of the Keep Saraland Beautiful program is to improve the aesthetic and ecological value of the city through litter control/prevention, proper handling of solid waste, beautification, public education awareness, recruitment of volunteers, and promotion of voluntary recycling. The program coordinates the cleanup efforts of the city as well as interacting with local business owners and managers. The programs targets "eyesores" throughout the city and seeks community resources to improve such sites as streets, rights of way, parking and vacant lots, loading docks and refuse areas. By having a local Keep America Beautiful affiliate we have access to a network of ideas that have worked and are working for other communities. The concept of changing the community for the better and increasing the community's pride can have long lasting benefits.
Our Mission
To encourage people living and working in Saraland to personally contribute to the improvement of the community
Recycling Ideas
KSB wants everyone to send us your ideas on how to reuse the center of paper towels - toilet paper rolls - wax paper etc. Let us see how many uses we can come up with!
Residential Recycling
The City of Saraland has two types of residential recycling. The free SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING containers are located on Station Street and residents must take their recycling items to the collection station. Curbside Single Stream Recycling cost is $5.00 per month per resident and picked up every Tuesday.
Mayor Dr. Howard Rubenstein, Council Chair Joe McDonald, Council Members: Newton Cromer, Wayne Biggs, Natalie Moye and Veronica Hudson
Mayor Dr. Howard Rubenstein, Council Chair Joe McDonald, Council Members: Newton Cromer, Wayne Biggs, Natalie Moye and Veronica Hudson
KSB GARDENING NEWS FROM JAMES MILES
May 2023The night temperatures winding up April and starting May are still kind of cool compared to the normal temps this time of year. That will slow the growth of some of our newly planted warm-season plants. It is important not to fertilize with nitrogen during these cool periods. The results could range from damage to the plants or loss of nitrogen before the plants take it up. Once the temperatures stabilize and start to climb you will get the benefit of applying fertilizer.May is time to fertilize your centipede grass. Fertilize according to your soil test results. If you haven’t had your soil tested for nutrients, you can use 6 lbs. of 15-0-15 per 1,000 ft2.Last year I read an article that listed May as Daylily month. There are a lot of opportuni-ties to use daylilies in the landscape. They are fairly easy to care for and propagate to share or to place in other parts of your landscape. In the past, I have used daylilies to establish a red and yellow color scheme in my backyard. In addition to creating color themes, you can expand your daylilies to have different colors bloom each month. This is a fun affordable plant to have in your landscape.Be on the lookout for Azalea leaf gall in your landscape. In early spring you will see soft swollen areas on leaves, new shoots, and flower buds as a result of this fungal infection. If you identify this problem early and there are only a few galls, hand removal is very effec-tive. The key is to remove the galls before they become white or pink with spores that will spread to other parts of the plant or other plants in the landscape. Don’t throw or drop the galls on the ground in the landscape, destroy the gall, or dispose of them off-site. Plant-ing resistant varieties, proper site selection, proper spacing, and proper pruning will help reduce the pressure of this disease. Increasing air circulation and sunlight exposure will help reduce the presence of this disease also. There are a few fungicides that are labeled for this disease, read the label!I started to see photos of Cedar Apple rust galls on social media in mid-April. It appears that this year will be conducive for this disease. If you have this disease, you have a cedar tree and one of the other hosts (apple, pear, mayhaw, or quince). This disease must have both hosts to survive, so if you eliminate one you eliminate the disease. Here are a couple of links for more information: https://programs.ifas.ufl.edu/florida-4-h-forest-ecology/forest-ecology-contest/contest-sta-tions/forest-health/diseases/cedar-apple-rust/https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/crop-production/quince-rust-on-mayhaw/The last weekend of April, I harvested the last of my mustards and turnips. Those plants are starting to produce flowers (bolting). Though they are still edible, they tend to develop a slight bitter taste as the flowers mature. The bitter taste is a result of the plant sending most of the sugar to the blooms instead of to the roots and retaining some in the leaves.Enjoy the outdoors.
Free Supplies to Help You Pick Up Litter!
We have a new Keep Saraland Beautiful project, buckets with litter supplies that residents can pick up at the Chamber of Commerce office for free. The buckets have 2 litter grabber sticks, 2 pairs of gloves, two pair of safety glasses, 2 safety vests, and a roll of trash bags. We ask that residents get one bucket per household, use the contents to pick up litter, then the items are theirs to keep. We would love them to post pictures on our Facebook page. All they have to do is go in during business hours and ask for litter supplies.
Keep Saraland Beautiful congratulations to BlackHorse Gifts at 126 Industrial Parkway for winning the Quarterly Yard of the Month Beautification Award. This well stocked gift shop is always tastefully decorated and has a large variety of unique gifts for everyone.
Meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 12 noon at the Saraland Chamber Offices.
Keep Saraland Beautiful Yard of
the Month
Selections will rotate monthly to different parts of the city. The yard must have some seasonal color and one or more specimen trees. For full criteria and pictures of past Yards of the Month click the button below.
Adopt-A-Spot
Adopt-A-Spot is a part of Keep Saraland Beautiful, Inc. Our mission is to improve the natural beauty of Saraland with landscaped green spaces along Saraland Boulevard and Industrial Parkway and to improve civic pride in the business district of the City of Saraland.
The Keep Saraland Beautiful organization received its national certification as an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful in December 1999. This is a non-profit public education organization dedicated to preserving the natural beauty and environment of Americaand improving the waste handling practiced at the community level. It is a community based approach to changing the attitude and practices relating to litter and waste handling. The prime purpose of the Keep Saraland Beautiful program is to improve the aesthetic and ecological value of the city through litter control/prevention, proper handling of solid waste, beautification, public education awareness, recruitment of volunteers, and promotion of voluntary recycling. The program coordinates the cleanup efforts of the city as well as interacting with local business owners and managers. The programs targets "eyesores" throughout the city and seeks community resources to improve such sites as streets, rights of way, parking and vacant lots, loading docks and refuse areas. By having a local Keep America Beautiful affiliate we have access to a network of ideas that have worked and are working for other communities. The concept of changing the community for the better and increasing the community's pride can have long lasting benefits.
Our Mission
To encourage people living and working in Saraland to personally contribute to the improvement of the community
Recycling Ideas
KSB wants everyone to send us your ideas on how to reuse the center of paper towels - toilet paper rolls - wax paper etc. Let us see how many uses we can come up with!
Residential Recycling
The City of Saraland has two types of residential recycling. The free SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING containers are located on Station Street and residents must take their recycling items to the collection station. Curbside Single Stream Recycling cost is $5.00 per month per resident and picked up every Tuesday.
Mayor Dr. Howard Rubenstein, Council Chair Joe McDonald, Council Members: Newton Cromer, Wayne Biggs, Natalie Moye and Veronica Hudson
KSB GARDENING NEWS
FROM JAMES MILES
May 2023The night temperatures winding up April and starting May are still kind of cool com-pared to the normal temps this time of year. That will slow the growth of some of our newly planted warm-season plants. It is important not to fertilize with nitrogen during these cool periods. The results could range from damage to the plants or loss of nitrogen before the plants take it up. Once the temperatures stabilize and start to climb you will get the benefit of applying fertilizer.May is time to fertilize your centipede grass. Fertilize according to your soil test results. If you haven’t had your soil tested for nutrients, you can use 6 lbs. of 15-0-15 per 1,000 ft2.Last year I read an article that listed May as Daylily month. There are a lot of oppor-tunities to use daylilies in the landscape. They are fairly easy to care for and propa-gate to share or to place in other parts of your landscape. In the past, I have used daylilies to establish a red and yellow color scheme in my backyard. In addition to cre-ating color themes, you can expand your daylilies to have different colors bloom each month. This is a fun affordable plant to have in your landscape.Be on the lookout for Azalea leaf gall in your landscape. In early spring you will see soft swollen areas on leaves, new shoots, and flower buds as a result of this fungal infection. If you identify this prob-lem early and there are only a few galls, hand removal is very effective. The key is to remove the galls before they become white or pink with spores that will spread to other parts of the plant or other plants in the landscape. Don’t throw or drop the galls on the ground in the landscape, destroy the gall, or dispose of them off-site. Planting resistant varieties, proper site selection, proper spacing, and proper prun-ing will help reduce the pressure of this disease. Increasing air circulation and sunlight exposure will help reduce the pres-ence of this disease also. There are a few fungicides that are labeled for this disease, read the label!I started to see photos of Cedar Apple rust galls on social media in mid-April. It appears that this year will be conducive for this disease. If you have this disease, you have a cedar tree and one of the other hosts (apple, pear, mayhaw, or quince). This disease must have both hosts to sur-vive, so if you eliminate one you eliminate the disease. Here are a couple of links for more information: https://programs.ifas.ufl.edu/florida-4-h-forest-ecology/forest-ecology-contest/contest-stations/forest-health/diseases/cedar-apple-rust/https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/crop-pro-duction/quince-rust-on-mayhaw/The last weekend of April, I harvested the last of my mustards and turnips. Those plants are starting to produce flowers (bolting). Though they are still edible, they tend to develop a slight bitter taste as the flowers mature. The bitter taste is a result of the plant sending most of the sugar to the blooms instead of to the roots and retaining some in the leaves.Enjoy the outdoors.
Free Supplies to Help You
Pick Up Litter!
We have a new Keep Saraland Beautiful project, buckets with litter supplies that residents can pick up at the Chamber of Commerce office for free. The buckets have 2 litter grabber sticks, 2 pairs of gloves, two pair of safety glasses, 2 safety vests, and a roll of trash bags. We ask that residents get one bucket per household, use the contents to pick up litter, then the items are theirs to keep. We would love them to post pictures on our Facebook page. All they have to do is go in during business hours and ask for litter supplies.
Keep Saraland Beautiful congratulations to BlackHorse Gifts at 126 Industrial Parkway for winning the Quarterly Yard of the Month Beautification Award. This well stocked gift shop is always tastefully decorated and has a large variety of unique gifts for everyone.