Looking for a great deal on trees, plants, even bluebird houses for your yard? Or maybe you are getting into recycling all that rain water by utilizing a rain barrel! Check out the information below from the Paxton Record:
The Ford County Soil & Water Conservation District is selling rain barrels, fish, trees, native plants, wood duck houses and bluebird houses.
Rain barrels — The order deadline is Feb. 26. Fifty-five-gallon plastic barrels, formerly used for food product shipping, have been modified into rain barrels that are 35 to 42 inches tall. They are assembled with a spigot, with linking fitting at the bottom end, overflow fitting near the top and a screen enclosure for the top. The rain barrels come in black, grey, blue or terra cotta colors at a cost of $65 each. Accessories available include: a linking hose, flex elbow, rain water diverter and wooden pedestal riser.
Fish — The order deadline is March 13 for grass carp and March 23 for all other fish. People can call the SWCD office at 379-2372 to ask about possible deadline extensions. Pickup is at 11 a.m. March 30. Available for purchase in various sizes are catfish, sunfish, bass, bluegill, redear and minnows. Pond delivery is available for orders of at least 1,000 fish or 250 pounds of catfish.
Trees — The order deadline is April 6, and pickup dates are April 10 for balled and burlap trees and April 20 for all other trees. Available for purchase are evergreens, hardwoods, shrubs, in-potted plants and bare-root seedlings. Also, a variety of fruit trees are available for $28. Grasses are on sale for $9.75 per plant in one-gallon pots. Evergreens are available in larger sizes for $30 apiece. The supplier also has many other items available upon special request.
Native plants — The order deadline is April 15, and the pickup date is May 29. Native plants come in a variety of colors, bloom periods and sizes. The plants cost $2.75 each and range in height from 2.25 inches to 2.5 inches.
Wood duck houses — People who own a pond and want to enhance the wildlife quality are encouraged to buy a wood duck house. The wood duck houses are 31.5 inches by 17 inches and are made of either pine or cedar. Pine wood duck houses cost $50, and cedar wood duck houses cost $65.
Bluebird houses — The bluebird houses are 28.5 inches by 12 inches and are made of either pine or cedar. Pine orders cost $20 and cedar orders $30.
To obtain order forms, visit the Ford County SWCD office in the USDA building at 1380 W. Ottawa Road, Paxton, or call 379-2372, Ext. 3.