Home and Garden Tips

Green Gardens to Go, Organic, Recycled and Eco-Friendly Products (6)

2011-02-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

Green Gardens to Go, Organic, Recycled and Eco-Friendly Products (6)

Enough Snow Already!

2011-02-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

Three fourths of the country seems to be inundated with snow. Spring seems impossibly far away. My garden is buried under 3 feet of snow, so I've taken to growing things in my living room in an aero garden. I've had seral weeks of lettuce and am thinking about adding cherry tomatoes to my salad.

It's for the Birds

2011-01-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

Suet holder

Many birds hang around in wintertime and have to scrounge around for food. These are the same birds who will eat insects in your garden when summer comes around. Here are a few items that could keep them alive. At top is a unique holder for suet. At the right is a birdfeeder with kokopeli and cactus design.
Find these and more at Green Gardens To Go.

2011-01-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

Worm Factory®
No, you are not growing worms in the worm factory. You are putting the worms to work eating your vegetable and fruit waste and turning it into compost. Redworms are the most voracious and will eat large amounts of waste. If done right, there is no odor from the garbage or compost. (Let's face it: it's worm poop.) Everything you need is included in the kit that comes with the worm factory except the worms. You can find a place near you that sells worms by going to Findworms.com .
How does it work? You will start out with coco fiber and shredded paper in the bottom tray. This is home for the worms. Cut up some waste food and place it in a corner of the tray. The worms will soon find and devour all of it. After several weeks, perhaps a month or more, you will notice that the bottom tray is full of compost. Time to move on. Place a second tray on top of the first and prepare it the same way as you did the first. There is a grate at the bottom of each tray that the worms will crawl through. It will take quite a bit of time before all of the worms will reach the second level. Once they are in the second level, you can take the first tray out and use the compost in your garden. Worm compost is the best fertilizer you can use and when you have a worm factory it is free. Find the worm factory at Green Gardens To Go.

You Can Help Create American Jobs

2011-01-24T06:38:00.000-08:00

I want to ask each of you to consider doing the following when you are talking on the phone to any US customer service representative that is based in a foreign country (like India ).

I have done this twice and it works!

Any time you call an 800 number (for a credit card, banking, charter communications, health insurance, reservations, you name it) and you are transferred to a representative (like in India), please consider doing the following:

After you connect and you realize that the customer service representative is not from the USA (you can always ask if you are not sure about the accent), please very politely (very politely - this is not about trashing other cultures) say,

"I'd like to speak to a customer service representative in the United States of America." The rep might suggest talking to his/her manager, but, again, politely say,
"Thank you, but I'd like to speak to a customer service representative in the USA."

YOU WILL BE IMMEDIATELY CONNECTED to a rep in the USA. It only takes less than one minute to have your call
re-directed to the USA.

Tonight when I got redirected to a USA rep, I asked again to make sure - and yes, she was from Fort Lauderdale.
Imagine if tomorrow, every US citizen who has to make such a call and then requests a US rep, imagine how that would ultimately impact the number of US jobs that would need to be created ASAP.

Imagine what would happen if every US citizen insisted on talking to only US phone reps from this day on . . .

If I tell 10 people to consider this and you tell 10 people to consider doing this - see what I mean . .. . it
becomes an exercise in viral marketing 101.

Remember - the goal here is to restore jobs back here at home - not to be abrupt or rude to a foreign phone rep.

If you agree, please tell 10 people you know and tell them to tell 10 people tell . . . etc

Ants, Roaches, Bedbugs, a non-chemical approach

2010-09-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I got a call asking about diatomaceous earth. I had no clue but promised to do some research. It turns out that it is made from the shells of tiny creatures called diatoms. Their shells turn into a fine white powder that has many uses.
Wikipedia says"Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbent for liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies, and as a component of dynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulation."
So why would we care? If you are looking for a pesticide that wont harm your children or pets this is the way to go. I have found it advertised at Ace Hardware and Lowe's; it is not expensive and fairly easy to find. I hope you don't need it but happy sprinkling if you do.

The chicken and the egg.

2010-08-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

Today’s recall of millions of eggs should make us think again about the food we eat. While most of us are not going to go out and get some chickens for our yard, we might look for a trusted local source for our eggs. A brief glimpse of the farm that produced the tainted eggs showed chickens behind bars crowded into a small space. It’s hard to imagine that this is a healthy environment. Local health food stores generally limit their eggs to farms with free range chickens. Usually the prices are higher.

Is your good health worth a few extra dollars?

Jack and the Beanstalk

2010-08-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Like the beanstalk in Jack's story, this opportunity can grow and grow.
It is now possible for the average person like you and me
to make money like the banks do
every time someone uses their debit card.

If that sounds intriguing to you, click on this link for details. http://savingitall.com
For more complete information go to:
http://www.mjehall.wakeupandbefree.com

Overrun by Beans

2010-08-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

I have been neglecting my garden because my husband is in the hospital and I have been spending a lot of time there. In the meanwhile all my green beans seem to be ripening at the same time even though I did not plant them all at the same time. So yesterday, I found this delicious but simple recipe. I cut the beans into 1 inch pieces and started cooking them in the usual way. While they were getting hot, I put 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and sauteed some onions. Mushrooms would have been great but I didn't have any. The recipe called for tomatoes and seasonings but I didn't have those either. What I did have was half a jar of Italian style tomato sauce. I added the sauce and the beans to the frying pan and voila! a feast for kings.

On the trail of the yellow spots

2010-08-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was all excited about my pumpkin plants and then these yellow spots started to appear. I consulted my favorite garden site, Gardens Alive. There I found out that you need good seeds(I had really good organic seeds) good soil (well maybe half good) to prevent disease. Well it was too late for prevention. Here is their recommendation:
Don't work with the plants when they are wet. Use a copper saop fungicide every 7-10days.
I hope this helps to keep my garden and your garden in better shape.

Overflowing Pumpkin

2010-08-06T04:49:00.000-07:00

1 pumpkin seed =
I had to train it to stay on my fence because it was headed for the neighbors yard. Some of the leaves are getting yellow spots. More research needed to address this problem. See you next time with the answer. Visit Green Gardens To Go for more organic solutions.

The lazy gardener

2010-07-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

I love to grow things but I hate to spend hours pulling weeds and standing around with a hose dripping on me. Here are some of my solutions. This is my weed free water gardening blanke t. As you can see, I haven't filled all of the space yet. The blue line you see at the top of the picture is a hose which connects each row to a tube which has small holes that will water the plants. Now all I have to do is turn on the faucet at the side of the house and voila my plants are being watered. However, two jobs remain: 1. turn it off before I flood the basement and 2. figure out how to keep the squirrels from eating the seeds, (YES THEY DID!)

Then I got the bright idea to try the same technique in my planters. It's not the prettiest sight on the block but the drip hose waters all these plants at once. I also put black fabric around each of the plants and weighted it down with rocks. How lazy can you get! Stay tuned. I might think of something else.

Organic Gardening

2010-05-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

What is organic gardening? It means many things. It means not using chemicals and pesticides on your garden or lawn. I does mean using insects or beneficial natural means instead. As an example, last summer I bought 1000's of lady bugs to eat the aphids on my rose bush. This year I used milky spore to chase away the grubs from my lawn and corn gluten to keep out the weeds.

Most simple chemical plant foods have a much higher salt index than natural organics. Over-application of some of these chemical products can burn by causing an over abundance of salts in the soil. This imbalance forces water to move from the plant to the soil, causing dehydration and the eventual death of the plant. Natural organics have a much lower salt index, making them much safer to use.

Making the switch from chemical to natural organics is a conscious choice that may cost more initially both in money and time but will pay off over the long run because less and less is needed as your garden and lawn return to a more natural state.

An Alternative to Peat Moss

2010-03-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Coco Fiber (sometimes call coir) is made of coconut husks which are ground up . There is a plentiful supply, unlike peat moss which takes hundreds of years to form. The husks are compressed into bricks which is easier for shipping. When you add water they will expand considerably and retain the water for a long time. You can use these bricks to lighten up your soil or as bedding in a worm bin. They are also suitable in aquariums. They add nutrients to the soil and are free from weeds, seed and other materials. Coco fiber is great for starting seeds and now is the time to start seeds. You can find coco fiber disks or blocks at Green Gardens To Go

Why Go Organic?

2009-01-13T18:20:00.001-08:00

Benefits of Natural Organics
Organic plant foods outperform other fertilizers in many ways:
Method and Rate of Release

Most plant foods are water soluble. They go into solution quickly and the nutrients are either taken up by the plants or lost, because of leaching.

Natural organics, however, are water insoluble. Their release is dependent upon three factors; moisture, temperature, and soil microbes. This microbial release is a slow process. The soil microbes digest the organic materials, releasing the nutrients. Water is required by these microbes to sustain their life, as well as to keep nutrients flowing into the plants root zone.

Temperature is critical because, when soil temperature falls below 52 degrees, these microbes go dormant and no nutrients are released. When this happens, the plant food stays in the soil, to be released when soil temperature again rises. The rate of microbe activity and, therefore, the rate of nutrient release, increases as soil temperature rises; this rate of release -- governed by soil temperature -- mimics the plant's nutrient requirements. In other words, organic nutrients are released as the plants need them.

All this means that natural organics break down and feed slowly for an extended period of time. The nutrients are released as the plants need them, rather than all at once.
Learn more at Green Gardens To Go

The Scrub-Free Way To A Mildew-Free Home

2009-01-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

Mold and mildew can make the exterior of your home look dirty and unattractive-and if left unchecked, can damage paint, wood and siding. Unfortunately, removing mildew used to mean countless hours of scrubbing or power washing-only to have it return the next year. Fortunately, those days are gone!

Thanks to products specifically formulated to effectively kill mold and mildew-and prevent it from coming back-there's a scrub-free way to a mildew-free home! Just follow these simple steps:

• Are the black spots on your house dirt or mold and mildew? Since mildew is usually black and can look a lot like dirt, do this simple test: Apply a drop of household bleach to the discolored area. If it disappears, it's mildew.

• Kill the mold and mildew with a house cleaner that contains an EPA-registered mildewcide, like JOMAX® House Cleaner and Mildew Killer. JOMAX kills mold and mildew and loosens dirt and stains without scrubbing or power washing. It is specifically formulated to kill mildew but will not damage wood, etch aluminum siding or discolor surfaces like household bleach can. And JOMAX will not harm surrounding plants, grass and shrubs.

• After killing the mildew, prevent it from coming back with a paint formulated to prevent its growth, like PERMA-WHITE® Mold & Mildew-Proof Exterior Paint. PERMA-WHITE is guaranteed to prevent the growth of mold and mildew on the paint film for five years. The beautiful white finish can be tinted to off-white, pastel or popular earthtone colors. It's also guaranteed to resist cracking, fading, peeling and blistering for 15 years from the date of application.

JOMAX House Cleaner and Mildew Killer and PERMA-WHITE Mold & Mildew-Proof Exterior Paint are sold in paint stores, hardware stores and home centers nationwide.