Green Talk

My Broccoli seedlings, which were spindly and sickly looking were replanted in Organic Mechanic Potting Soil a couple of weeks ago. They now look like they were given a vitamin shot since they are standing strong and tall with several leaves.

Organic Mechanics is no ordinary potting soil. My broccoli obviously knows this. It is comprised of all organic matter including worm poop and compost that is locally harvested. What make this product so special? Compost and worm castings help create healthy soil. See the Company’s detailed explanation as to the benefits of compost and worm castings.

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Last year, I used corn gluten to hopefully dent the of invasion of crabgrass in my lawn. I knew based on my conversations with Professor Christians, the inventor of corn gluten as an herbicide that it would take three years to rid my lawn of the ugly looking “wanna be” grass. After speaking to the Professor, I became a corn gluten believer and I was ready to take the corn gluten plunge. I was not a pesticide type of gal.

Professor Christian gave me detailed instructions how to properly use the corn gluten as delineated in my article, “Corn Gluten: Can Animal Feed K’O Crabgrass?.” Did I follow them? Well, not really. The first rule I broke was when to apply it, which is when the forsythia is blooming. Due to spring break, I ended applying the corn gluten after the forsythia was in full bloom. Corn gluten has a lot of nitrogen in it so my lawn at least benefited from it. The weeds were sending me thank you notes too since corn gluten does not kill perennial weeds.

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How many of us catch lunch or dinner when we can? Are you driving up to the drive-in window more than you like to due to a hectic job, children with multiple activities or caring for family members? Does the person at the other end of the microphone recognize your voice?

I find myself in this situation many times during the week. I know. Eating at fast food places is not the greenest or healthiest places to eat. Sometimes, it is just unavoidable. How can you possibly interject a little green into a fast food situation? Well, if there is a hamburger, there is a way.

Slowly over the years I started saving parts of the dinner or lunch packages since I realize how much I was contributing to the landfills. First, I started collecting straws. I would use them to mark where I planted my bulbs so I could figure out which ones did not grow. (See my picture of the straws in my beds.) My neighbor remarked the other day that my plants seemed to be sprouting early. I chuckled and told her that those were straws marking my plant bulbs.

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Yesterday, I became the proud mama of nine small apple trees. I feel like sending out birth announcements since I am so excited. Here is how it would read:

With much happiness and anticipation, we are pleased to announce the adoption of our 9 bundles of semi-dwarf apple trees to our family. Smokehouse, Redgold, Pumpkin Russet, Rhode Island Greening, Macoun, Northern Spy, Idared, Empire, and King of Tompkin are from strong stock and were named after their heirloom ancestry, which in some cases dates back many, many years.

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Some of My Curly Thyme Plants Soaking Before Planting

If you are feeling like the fertilizing, watering, and seeding routine is getting old, consider planting a ground cover for your lawn. According to the University of Illinois Extension, once ground covers are established, they need a minimum amount of maintenance.

Here is a list of ground covers that can take some traffic. See also the Stepables site where you can choose from different configurations as to zone, drought resistance, and the amount of traffic. Although the site tells you which ones are deer resistant, you should still check with your local extension for verification.

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With spring fastly approaching, it is time to start thinking about your lawn and garden. Here is an idea to make your lawn work for you, rather than the other way around. Watch this video by Jay and Ryanne of Ryan is Hungry who turned a small area of lawn into an edible adventure so at least their water bills are attributable to their health.

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Unfortunately, in my area in New Jersey you could only have an edible lawn if you had an 8 foot fence around it since I co-habitate with deer, rabbits, and ground hogs. (Even an occasional coyote and black bear.)

If wildlife is not your issue, consider an edible lawn. Reduce your food bills, green your lawn. Sounds like an appetizing combination.

Catch my upcoming ground cover article for those of you who would love to get rid of a portion of your lawn.

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Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. I love the fall foliage with its different colors of red, yellow, and orange. As beautiful as the colorful foliage seems, many people dread fall because they have to rake up all those leaves. On top of the hard work, they have to pay someone to haul them away. But what happens if I told you that those leaves are one of the most valuable assets in your garden? They are made by Mother Nature, herself. On top of this, they are plentiful and free.

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Photo by Megan under permission of the Creative Commons License 2.0

The most constant complaint I hear as to why people can not live a greener lifestyle is it is too inconvenient or just too hard. Believe it or not, just right outside your door are places which can help you create a greener lifestyle. That’s right. Right in your own neighborhood. In my case, many the places or ideas that I will discuss are no more than 15 minutes away from my house. Let me show how simple greening your life can be with my 15 easy neighborhood tips.

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 Courtesy of TerraCycle, Inc.

What does fundraising, soda bottles, yogurt cups, drinking pouches, and worm poop have in common?  Give up?  I know that is a tough set of words to figure out the correlation.  Just ask the innovative folks over at TerraCycle, maker of worm poop fertilizer and other assorted eco-friendly gardening products.  They will tell you that it’s their mission to rid the world of waste through creating innovative uses of products that you would ordinarily throw away.  Their worm poop product is bottled in recycled soda bottles.

 How does this involve our young?  What better way to teach this lesson than to create fundraisers involving children to collect items that can be reused?   If our young can be taught at an early age to respect the Earth, then when they grow up as adults this thought process will be second nature to them. This is what the TerraCycle clan is banking on.  They are planting the seeds in our children, and nurturing this “help the Earth” concept.  This is not much different than what their worm poop fertilizer does for plants.

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Am I getting ready for Halloween? People ask me this since my “ghostly” garden is the first thing you see when you drive up to my house. It sure looks that way. Last week, the weather changed in New Jersey from an Indian summer to a “cold windy I wish I did not live here” day. I am just not ready to throw in the towel or should I say trowel yet on my garden especially since my tomato plants have just started turning red. I wish the weather would just make up her mind. Colder summers, warmer winters, snow in spring?

As the wind was howling, my tomato cages crashed to the ground. I felt like Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind, trying to save Tara (in my case, my tomato plants), and my Rhett Butler ( my husband) was called to help me out. He could not say to me, “Frankly Scarlett I don’t give a d-mn” because he saw the panic in my eyes. I just was not ready to see my tomato plants die when they still had so much life left in them. (I know. I can be a garden drama queen at times.) So, did Rhett save the tomato plants? Read on…

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