Start A Green Living Now!
Green Gardening
Natural Alternatives to Stop Using Pesticides
More Than Egg-Layers, Poultry Keeps Insects At Bay If your gardens are over-run by pests, but you do not want to use pesticides, what can you do? Well, if you live in a rural area, whether on a farm or just somewhere with a lot of land, and no nearby neighbors, why not give free-range poultry a try? Chickens, ducks and guinea fowl can supply fresh eggs on a daily basis. If you allow them the free run of your land, they can also devour the bugs and slugs that would otherwise be devouring your garden produce. Guinea fowl consume ticks (which can carry Lyme disease, besides just being generally gross), fleas, June bugs and Japanese beetles – but they don’t bother with your fruits or vegetables. Guinea fowl also make good watch animals. The reason guinea fowl are better than chickens for pest patrol is that they do not scratch up the ground. The guinea fowl is a hardy bird, with few diseases. One drawback is their droppings will litter the ground. While it makes for excellent fertilizer, you won’t want you, or your kids, to step in it. However, used properly, chickens can do their part to eliminate unwanted pests as well. Just ...- Bookmark :
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Green Family Projects – Compost
Many homeowners may feel that their efforts in reducing their collective household members' carbon footprints are simply insufficient to make a positive impact on the environment. If you are one of these homeowners, don't despair because it is possible to make a greater impact towards protecting the only planet we can live on. The good news is that you do not even need to go far to look for these eco-friendly ways. Just go out into your backyard, look at your garden and the answer will come leaping right at you - compost! That is, if you have not adopted the methods of compost gardening yet. As can be expected, there are many benefits to be had from making compost as your family's next eco-friendly project. It will definitely make for a good time in terms of bonding with your children and educating them on eco-friendly issues in a more relaxed setting. For one thing, you need not spend money on artificial fertilizers and pesticides as compost itself acts in these manners, one more than the other. Your household waste from your vegetable and fruit peelings to your own human waste - yes, we are talking about your poop - can be transformed ...- Bookmark :
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Natural Fertilizer
When you are starting a backyard garden, the matter of using fertilizers on your plants will definitely come up. After all, fertilizers boost plant growth that, in turn, can provide your kitchen table and living room table with delicious vegetables and beautiful flowers, respectively. You must, however, take extra care in choosing the type of fertilizer, either synthetic or natural, that you use since both have environmental implications. Synthetic Fertilizers Most commercially available all-purpose synthetic fertilizers contain the so-called “big three” – nitrogen, phosphate/phosphorus and potassium. Other ingredients include calcium, iron, magnesium, and other trace elements but the big three have greater environmental impact due to their relatively large quantities. • Nitrogen is necessary for foliage growth but its production process, specifically the Haber-Bosch process, requires plenty of natural gas. The more natural gas used, the greater the strain on Earth’s natural resources. • Phosphate or phosphorous in synthetic fertilizers promotes flower and root development but at the expense of rapid depletion of the world’s phosphorus deposits. Also, the excess phosphorus in the soil contaminates waterways that stimulate phytoplankton and algae growth. This, in turn, lead to adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems. • Potassium is needed for plants’ overall health. It has its uses in ...- Bookmark :
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Watering Your Garden
It’s time to introduce technology to your gardening and lawn care tasks. Water Crystals One way to cut down on the amount of watering you’ll need to do for your plants is by using Water Crystals. These are super absorbent polymers in the form of white granules…also called hydro gels, polymer crystals, or water gels. These water gels reduce watering requirements for shrubs, trees, and lawns. They help prevent stress in your plants in times of both drought and excessive moisture. They also help irrigate crops and trees, turf grasses, lawns, plants and flowers in gardens, containers and nurseries. Rain Barrels If you want to go less high tech, having a rain barrel or even two can help you immensely with your watering needs. But since the theme of this article is using technology…how can you incorporate technology into your water barrel? Well, the easiest way is just with that simple technological marvel, the spigot, which you can affix to the exterior of the barrel. In this way, you can keep the rain barrel uncovered during periods of rain, but covered at all other times (which will help prevent the birth of mosquitos!), and fill your watering can from the spigot when it comes time ...- Bookmark :
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The Many Uses of Weeds
Did you know that weeds can be useful? You may have the idea that weeds are just big problems. If this is your mindset, you may be using herbicides and mowing your lawn when you really don't need to. While you probably want to have a garden and lawn that looks nice, it may be time to start thinking a bit differently about weeds. Weeds are Rehabilitators Believe it or not, there are some weeds out there that are actually rehabilitators. While some weeds are definitely a big detriment to the other plants, there are some weeds that can help save your landscape. One Australian by the name of Peter Andrews has actually been working to use weeds for the purpose of rehabilitation. This is what he refers to as "natural sequence farming." His theory is that weeds grow in certain areas because the soil can't support other species. So he decided to allow these weeds to grow and even helped them to go. After some time, native species in the area took back over again and the balance was back. Apparently weeds can be helpful in some cases, helping to rehabilitate the soil and help other plants to grow. In fact, in ...- Bookmark :
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